Xander DxD
by Scott the Wanderer
Summary: A prank gone horribly wrong removes Issei from the equation before he can even do anything important. How will Rias and the ORC handle Xander Harris being the Red Dragon Emperor? How will Xander deal with being a Devil? Harem because it's DxD. As Tenhawk says: Reviews are the coin of the realm.
1. White Knight or Crimson Pawn?

**Xander DxD**

**Summary: **A prank gone horribly wrong removes Issei from the equation before he can even do anything important. How will Rias and the ORC handle Xander Harris being the Red Dragon Emperor? Harem because it's DxD.

**Disclaimer: **I do not own High School DxD, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Angel, Harry Potter, and Rifts

**Major AU: **Do not expect this story to strictly follow canon for High School DxD.

**Key: ** "Talking" 'Thought' [Sacred Gear] (Pailamancy or Telepathy) *Technique*

**White Knight or Crimson Pawn?**

"You summoned a Gremory Devil?" Issei Hyoudou asked as the door opened revealed a rather attractive woman dressed in lowrise jeans, a baby t-shirt, denim jacket, and combat boots. She had lovely brown hair and smokey brown eyes as well. Already fantasies were playing in his head. "Sorry about not appearing in a circle, I am new at this."

"Awww, you're not Koneko. How am I supposed to enter the team cosplay contest as Faith and Buffy without Koneko to be Buffy?" 'Faith' whined in a voice that was far too cutesy for her current look, "I specifically booked Koneko, I know it. I even have a whole sashimi grade yellowfin as payment."

Issei was stunned for a moment as the girl whined. While he was not acquainted with all Western Television, he had seen Buffy the Vampire Slayer. The idea of women who could kick ass and still be sexy appealed to the pervert in him. He also identified a little bit with Xander Harris, the normal guy who still fought to protect the girls who could kick his ass, "Well, I could be Xander, I guess. I'm not handsome enough for Angel, not stuffy enough for Wesley, or Billy Idol enough to be Spike. For obvious reasons Robin and Gun are also out."

"Xander?" 'Faith' perked up as she scratched the underside of her chin for a moment. She then took a moment to look Issei over, "Yeah, I have a leather jacket, an eye patch and a prop axe that would make it perfect for Post-Chosen Xander. This will be even better. We'll take the grand prize for sure. Xander-kun."

"Well, if we are going in character I need some stakes, a water bottle, and some twinkies." Issei said after a moment, "But no cross, please."

"But Xander wouldn't go out without a cross," 'Faith' pouted outrageously.

"I don't feel like bursting into flames," Issei countered. He really wasn't sure what would happen if he touched a cross, but seeing as how his senses screamed at him every time he was near one, he wasn't going to take a chance, "I'm a Devil, remember?'

"Oh right, I forgot all about that," 'Faith' giggled nervously as she scratched the back of her head in embarrassment. She then motioned for Issei to enter so she could properly dress him up.

…  
…

Rias Gremory was not angry, nor was she mad. She wasn't pissed or even livid. She had skipped over all of those and straight into furious. This was evident by the basketball sized orb of black and red energy in her right hand. "Do you mind telling me why you have returned my precious servant to me MISSING AN EYE?!"

Hermes, son of Zeus, might have been a Major God, but given the decline in worshippers since the heydey of the Roman Empire he just wasn't as powerful as he used to be. Sure he could survive the redhead going all out, but he'd have to spend a few weeks under the care of Apollo and his half-brother didn't always have the best bedside manner with him. Not to mention there was the not so irrational fear that Rias might sic her brother on him. Hermes was well aware he wouldn't survive that encounter.

What perpetrated this? Simple, after Hermes had set the unconscious Pawn of Rias Gremory on one of the sofas in the ORC Clubroom. Rias had moved with surprising speed to her Pawn's side and lifted away the eyepatch only to scream in shocked horror at the empty socket she saw underneath. Immediately the Gremory heiress had taken a battle stance releasing her wings and forming a ball of condensed *Power of Destruction*.

"I don't mind telling you at all. It was a simple oversight on my part. I was playing a small prank on the mortals as I am wont to do. The *Night of Masks* spells that I learned from Janus. A complex bit of magic to reshape everyone into their costumes for a few hours." Hermes raised his hands to show he wasn't armed, nor was he preparing any magical attack. Truthfully he could cast all manner of spells with just a thought or word, but he didn't let many beings know that, "In body, mind, and soul everyone is what they dressed as until the spell ends. No harm and no foul as the spell prevents any serious injury or death."

"No serious injury? My Pawn is missing his eye!" Rias' tone was cold as the arctic winds.

"Xander Harris had his eye gouged out in the final season of Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Your pawn's costume represents Xander a few years after that event," Hermes replied, "The spell gave him the same scars the character had, but also the same skills, knowledge, and advantages. Though the body regressed in age to sixteen rather than the twenty five the costume represented. I'm still not sure why that happened. I asked Hecate, but she just laughed."

"Well then end the spell, Hermes-dono," Rias snapped harshly. She normally would have been much more polite, but someone harming her servants was always stressful in the extreme.

"About that," Hermes let out a nervous laugh as he scratched the back of his neck, "The spell ended an hour ago. I had to render Xander unconscious when he saw the Buffyverse booth," Bending backwards he let the ball of energy fly harmlessly past him and impact with the warded walls of the Clubroom. Standing back up he sighed heavily, "Can we please not kill the messenger? It's bad form."

"You're telling me that you have essentially maimed my Pawn and you expect me not to retaliate?" Rias was already forming another attack as she spoke.

"It was an accident. I didn't know there would be any high level Sacred Gears among the participants in the Cosplay contest," Hermes zipped around the Clubroom placing himself so that Rias could not easily attack him without risking destroying the precious tomes in her personal library, "Rin Takigawa had registered that she would be attending as Faith and the adorable Koneko Toujou would be Buffy. The last minute change where Issei Hyoudou would be Xander Harris came after I had already set the spell in motion."

"A Twice Critical is not a powerful Sacred Gear," Rias countered.

"Please, you don't think I know that he is the Pawn of Eight?" Hermes was mildly offended she would try to play dumb, "It would take a Longinus class Sacred Gear to require that many Pawns, especially given your level of power." Hermes rolled his eyes as he saw Rias look to her Pawn's sleeping form with astonishment, "Never mind that. What I have to tell you is important. *The Night of Masks* responds very badly to such powerful Sacred Gears and vice versa. Effectively the Sacred Gear treats the transformation as the death of the host. Since the Evil Pieces were repressed during that time, Xander was human and thus he became the new host rather than waiting for a compatible newborn. Once the spell expired the Evil Pieces reasserted themselves making Xander here your Pawn."

Rias dissipated the *Power of Destruction* as she sank down to her knees. She has never had to deal with the death of anyone close to her before. Issei was her newest servant and she had been spoiling him a little. While he was an unrepentant pervert, he had potential. Now that potential was gone. He was gone and that hurt. Now there was some stranger there in his place. She didn't even choose him and yet she was saddled with him as a pawn.

"Perhaps I can just reshape his mind to be like Issei's," Rias wondered aloud, "I can alter memories so his parents and friends think he always looked this way."

"I wouldn't try that, Gremory-dono," Hermes warned carefully, "The spell copied absolutely everything about Alexander Lavelle Harris. Given the wards that were placed on his mind in his reality, I doubt even Mentis could rewrite even the tiniest of details. Not to mention a mind weaker than his own might be overtaken by the Primal or the Soldier."

"Primal? Soldier?" Rias was pulled from her musing, "What in Maou's name are you blathering about?"

"You'll have to watch the shows to understand," Hermes said as he reached behind his back and produced a package, "A collector's edition Blu-Ray of the complete Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel. Just a small token of the amends I will be making to you and Xander."

"A God making amends for what he claims was a harmless prank?" the corners of Rias' lips curled up in the hint of a smile, "Oh, I see, you don't want me to sic onii-sama on you."

"Exactly, I've already contacted Mentis and she has rewritten the Hyoudou's minds to believe that Xander here is their child. And I have reimbursed them for his tuition at Kouh and provided a generous college fund." Hermes scratched the back of his neck, "I've altered all of Issei's records to reflect the change and I even tracked down one of his early childhood friends so Mentis can modify her memory."

"Please tell me you will make the two perverts believe they are just a Duo," Rias voiced her hope. She didn't mind Issei's perversion all that much, but Matsuda and Motohama creeped her out. She didn't want either of them tainting her new pawn.

"It would be for the best. Xander would likely murder Matsuda after one of his proclamations of being a lolicon," Hermes nodded, "I will pass your wishes on to Mentis."

"Good," Rias considered her options for a moment, "I want a Hephaestus forged weapon and armor for each member of my peerage as repayment for the damage done to my Pawn."

"And I want Ares to stop picking on me," Hermes responded.

Rias understood that to be the equivalent of 'I can't arrange it, pick something more reasonable.' She really hadn't been expecting him to agree, but there was little harm in trying. "A weapon or armor each and Hephaestus has free reign to forge what he wishes for each member. However I demand both weapon and armor for both myself and my Pawn."

Hermes stroked his chin for a moment in thought, "One item for each member of your peerage, his choice. Xander will receive two items."

"Greater Items or better, I will not accept less," Rias responded after a moment's consideration, crossing her arms under her ample bust, "And I expect some method of returning full sight to my Pawn."

"You drive a hard bargain, Gremory-Dono," Hermes nodded after a moment and extended his hand to seal the pact. "I so swear to make amends by the terms we have agreed on."

"I so swear that you are forgiven for your transgressions against me by the terms we agreed on," Rias smirked as she sealed the deal with a flare of magic.

"Oh very clever, I am still indebted to Xander-san," Hermes chuckled as he realized the trap he had run into while not thinking clearly, "Well, I guess that is what I get for dealing with a Devil… oh, Issei managed to successfully complete his pact. The Sashimi grade Yellowfin is currently in your refrigerator. Enjoy."

…  
…

"Oh great, another weird dream," Xander Harris muttered as he looked around to all too familiar Sunnydale Library. Behind the counter, Giles and Jenny were sorting books as always. Buffy and Faith were sparring in the open area. Kendra was sitting on the table enjoying an ice cream cone as Jesse flirted outrageously with her. Willow, Tara, and Kennedy were huddled together whispering back and forth then smiling at him. Joyce and Dawn were arranging some snacks and coffee on the main table. Riley, Angel, and Spike were watching the sparring slayers and comparing notes. Drusilla was off in a corner just humming to herself. Cordelia and Anya were discussing something he couldn't quite hear. The Baby Slayers were all practicing their Katas. Hyena Xander was locked in the book cage while Private Harris stood guard. Perched atop the tallest of bookshelves was the First Slayer watching over everything. "Looks like everyone who is important is here."

"Wow you have a crowded mind, Xander-san."

[He certainly does. And it doesn't dwell on breasts all the time. This is a marked improvement over you, Issei.]

"Oh, why do you have to bust my balls like that, Ddraig."

Xander spun around in place, his favorite hatchet appearing in hand as he did so. He was quite astonished to see a seven foot tall suit of crimson and gold armor that was reminiscent of a humanoid dragon. "What the hell?"

"Funny you should mention hell," Issei chuckled, "My name is Issei Hyoudou, I was the young man whose body you took over."

"Took over?" Xander repeated, "I didn't take over anything. I don't do things like that."

"No, you didn't intend to do it," Issei replied, "Someone very powerful cast the same spell that gave you Private Harris over there." Issei started to explain, "I just happened to be dressed up as you. Before you ask, in my world you are a character in a very popular TV Show. One of my favorite characters to be honest. I just wish you had gotten to play with more oppai. I rooted for you to be a Harem King,"

"You did?" Xander couldn't help but wonder about Issei. He looked a little young so he probably hadn't learned to fear women yet, "Well, this isn't a big deal. The spell will end and you'll get your body back."

[I am afraid my presence made that impossible, Alexander.] Ddraig's voice boomed out from the gem on Issei's left arm. [I am Ddraig the Red Dragon Emperor imprisoned in the Longinus class Sacred Gear the Boosted Gear.]

"And why would your presence cause a problem, Ddraig?" Xander knew there was a time and place to be serious and this was one of those times.

[A Sacred Gear as powerful as I am reacts very badly to the *Night of Masks*,] Ddraig started his explanation and continued through for several minutes on the intricacies of how he was bound to the human soul of his host. Most of it went in one of Xander's ears and out the other, [...in short the spell forced Issei to be reincarnated as you and you now possess the Boosted Gear and are my partner.]

"And I am here to give you some of my recent memories to make Buchou's life a little easier. Unfortunately they'll be buried in your subconscious. They might need to be jogged before you can use them," Issei explained as he retracted the helmet so Xander could see his face. "And am I asking you to look after Buchou, Akeno-senpai, and Koneko-chan as if they were your girls. And please help Kiba-san too. I won't be able to do it anymore."

Xander wanted to punch the kid for giving up, but he restrained it. Xander had seen people realize they were in a no-win situation. Moreover he knew if he was faced with certain annihilation and he could ask one favor of anyone, it would be the same one Issei was asking. He'd just want someone to watch over his girls and help his friends as much as he had.

"Sure thing, kid," Xander replied, "I promise to be their White Knight."

Issei chuckled, "No, Xander-senpai, you are their Crimson Pawn."

…  
…

"The pervert is dead?" Koneko's voice held a little bit of quaver as she asked that. Rias had explained what had happened and she couldn't help but blame herself. She had chosen which booking she would go to and thus Issei had gone to the one that erased his very existence in many ways.

"Well, there might be a small part of him left in Xander-san," Rias sighed heavily as she fought to maintain her composure. She was failing as some tears streamed down her cheeks. Now that she was with her peerage she could let herself grieve a little, "But I don't blame you at all and I don't want you to either, Koneko-chan."

"This is just a bad accident, Koneko-chan," Akeno placed a cookie in the Rook's hand to replace the one she dropped when hearing the news, "It could just have easily been Kiba-kun who was rewritten, but you had no way of knowing."

"Are we going to punish the Magician who did this?" Kiba's normally happy demeanor darkened a little. Issei was a pervert but he grew on people fast. Kiba considered him a comrade in arms despite the fact they hadn't really fought together yet, "While it might not have been intentional…"

"Hermes-dono has already apologized and will be making amends," Rias cut Kiba off before he could continue. "And I don't want any of you blaming Xander-san or treating him like a replacement. This was not his fault in the slightest. He is the one who has been wronged the most grievously."

"Of course, Buchou." All three of them spoke in unison.


	2. Introductions

**Disclaimer**: I do not own High School DxD, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Angel, Harry Potter, and Rifts  
**Major AU**: Do not expect this story to strictly follow canon for High School DxD.  
**Key**: "Talking" 'Thought' [Sacred Gear] (Pailamancy or Telepathy) *Technique*

**Introductions**

'This is not my hotel room,' Xander's internal monologue started the moment he was awake. His time in Africa had conditioned him to wake immediately and assess the situation in a flash. His eye darted around the room quickly evaluating what would make a decent weapon and where the exits were. Then he evaluated his kidnappers, for that is the only thing they could be. He'd just laid down for a nap before patrol and suddenly he was elsewhere. 'There are four of them. One male. Three females. They look young, but it's probably a disguise. Red and Black are powerful magically. Prince Charming moves like Angel. Little White moves like a Slayer. Fuck, I am so screwed.'

"Just relax, Xander-san, we only want to talk," Rias Gremory knew something was off in the way Xander had woken up. Most people she knew were disorientated for a few moments after waking. She could plainly see that Xander was evaluating the situation and planning an escape. She'd seen young Koneko do the same thing for the first few weeks after she'd been given to her, "None of us are… GAAAGGGHHH!"

Xander had palmed the magic flashbang the moment he'd realized he was not in his hotel room. He just waited for the perfect moment to utilize it. Since everyone was looking at him, preparing for him to either accept or reject the offer he acted. Immediately the room was filled with light and a loud bang. The magic of the device kept him from being blinded or deafened. He was up in a flash grabbing the Prince Charming and literally throwing him at Red and Black, causing all of them to crash into Little White. The descended into a tangle of limbs, which he then tipped the couch onto. This allowed him time to throw a heavy lamp through the window before he took a running jump out of it.

The three story fall was painful, but not at all lethal considering Xander landed on soft turf. He didn't even look back to see if his kidnappers were in pursuit. He simply ran towards the fence he saw in the distance. Once he was over that, he head ran down several alleys, changing directions randomly until he was sure he'd lost any possible pursuit.

"Alright, you lost them. Now it's time to call in the big guns," Almost breathless, Xander pulled out his cellphone and punched in the Watcher Councils Emergency Line.

"WELCOME TO NAUGHTY SLUT HOTLINE! ALL OF OUR GIRLS ARE JUST WAITING FOR YOU! THEY'VE BEEN EXTRA BAD SO SPANK THEIR PHAT ASSES BEFORE YOU FUCK THEM RAW! WE ACCEPT ALL..."

Xander almost dropped the phone, he'd been so shocked. Shutting off the phone he checked the number and dialed again.

"WELCOME TO NAUGHTY SLUT HOTLINE!.."

"What the…" Xander muttered as he shut off the phone. The number he'd dialed had a fidelius on it. It literally could not be dialed unless you were in on the secret. It had been a spell Willow came up with after she saw Order of the Phoenix. "I am getting a mild case of the wiggins here. Okay, when in doubt call Willow."

"You've reached Alysson Hannigan's message line. I really care about my fans so leave a name, e-mail, and a message and I will send you a personalized information packet about my convention tour dates. Oh and join me as I reunite with Nicholas Brendan on March 17 for Karaoke in Bedford Falls, New York."

Hanging up again, Xander just stared at his phone. He knew that name. Willow had joked about how much they looked alike when they saw the American Pie movie. They had actually contacted Miss Hannigan through a very similar message service. He also knew of Nicholas Brendan from Criminal Minds and the resemblance was just as wigsome.

"Okay, we have been upgraded to a seven on the wiggin's scale," Xander muttered as he dialed Buffy's number.

"Sarah Michelle Gellar's phone, who may I say is calling?"

Xander hung up before he could even utter a sound. His finger blurred through Giles personal number, one that only the core Scoobies had. Once the phone was picked up and he heard a familiar hello he just started talking, "Giles, it's me. Something is wrong. I dialed the Watcher Hotline and got a phone sex line. I called Willow and it was Alysson Hannigan's message line and…"

"Bloody Hell, Nick, are you drunk again? This is Anthony, not Giles," Anthony Head groaned out as he listened to the panicked man, "Just relax and take a few deep breaths. This is just like last time. Go drink a bottle of water, a nice cup of coffee and take a nap. I'll call your wife and she'll pick you up."

{Author Note: Please don't kill me for this, bit it kinda begged to be done.}

Xander just looked at the phone and started laughing. Clicking the off button he slipped it back into his pocket. "They must have used a confusion spell on me. Oh poor Nick, he's about to get in trouble for something he didn't do."

…

"How can every store be closed, it's only...four AM?" Xander stared at the clock in confusion. 'It's bright as day out here and since it's too warm to be the Arctic, something is wrong.' While he had developed excellent night vision over the years, it was nothing like what he was experiencing now. Glancing at the sky he noted it was heavily overcast which meant it should have been nearly pitch black on the streets he was travelling. "Alright, I am officially getting a bad vibe."

"Well, you should be," Came an answer in a voice not unlike a dog's snarl, "You're about to die."

"I have heard that one too many times," Xander's whole demeanor changed in just an instant. He was no longer worried about where he was, who had kidnapped him, or why he could see in the dark. Instead he had a very convenient method of relieving some of his stress. Turning around to face the speaker he offered a lopsided grin, "So, can I have a name for my report. Not that they let me turn them in anymore, but I still like to write them for fun."

"You're funny, trash, I'll make your death quick," snarled the figure as it threw off it's cloak and stood to its full height of nine feet tall. The first thing anyone would notice was it was covered in mangy scabrous hide with tufts of white fur sticking out here and there on its body. Despite standing straight up now it clawed hands could easily touch its backward facing knees. A pair of collie like tails wagged behind its back and it's head was canine but of an indistinct breed. A pair of dull red eyes stare down at Xander as if daring him to scream. "But the name is Ripper."

"Well, now I have another reason to put you down, Fido," Xander said as he reached behind his back and activated the dimensional space Willow had created for him. In less than the blink of an eye he'd brought out a Mare's Leg and pulled the trigger before racking the lever and firing a second shot. Two .454Casull Silver Hollow Points slammed into the dog-like demon's stomach knocking it back two feet from the two impacts and causing it to double over in pain. Racking the lever again, Xander aimed for the head to deliver the coup d grace, "I'd say it's nothing personal, but I hate lying."

Taking the moment to quip was not wise. As Xander had delivered his line, Ripper backhanded the Mare's Leg out of his hands. As the gun slid along the pavement, Ripper surged forward delivering a solid punch to Xander's midsection. The result lifted the man off his feet and then sprawled him out on his back.

"I'm going to eat you alive," Ripper roared as he pounced on the downed man intending to tear him to chunks with claws and bite.

"Bad Dog." Koneko Toujou deadpanned as she grabbed Rippers leg and pulled him off of Xander before he could do any damage. The tiny waif of a girl lifting the monstrous dog as if he was a baton. Not even a moment later she slammed the beast down on the pavement creating a large crack in the sidewalk, "Xander-senpai is not a chew toy."

"The Gremory cat? Your Bitch of an owner must be around," Ripper rolled to his feet revealing he was only minorly injured by being slammed to the ground, "After I kill you, I'll breed her."

"Oh I am indeed here, Ripper," Rias Gremory announced as she glided down to a landing, "But you won't be doing anything but dying today. Kiba, immobilize him."

"At once. Buchou," Kiba Yuuto blurred into motion, drawing forth a Sword of Sharpness from his Sacred Gear. There was the sound of two slashes and Kiba came to stop in front of Xander guarding him from any attack. "It is done."

"You missed," Ripper taunted before he took a step forward. Immediately he toppled off of most of his legs. There were two clean cuts across his thighs. Arterial red blood sprayed out of the stumps. "AAAAAGGGGHHH!"

"Akeno, it's your turn." Rias instructed as she began to walk over towards Xander..

"Oh goody, I get to play," Akeno Himejima's Yamato Nadeshiko facade melted away as she approached the prone form of Ripper. The smile on her face promised a lot of pain and the fact she would enjoy delivering it. "Try not to die quickly, Ripper-san."

With that the Devil known as the Priestess of Lightning called down bolt after bolt of lightning. Each one striking the canine demon in a new spot. Ripper howled in pain as his muscles spasmed and his flesh charred under the assault.

"Are you alright, Xander-san?" Rias was not watching the show. She had seen Akeno work before and would again. Instead she was examining Xander, showing a great deal of concern in her eyes as she looked for signs of wounds or bleeding, "Are you wounded?"

Xander for his part was breathless. Ripper's punch had literally knocked the wind from him as well as bruising a few ribs. He was forced to watch as his supposed kidnappers literally tore apart a demon who hit him harder than any Vampire or Demon ever head. If he had to rate it, he'd have to place the punch as equivalent to the love tap he took from Olaf's Hammer. "Knocked… wind… out… of ….me… bruised… ribs."

"Oh, my poor Pawn," Rias fawned over Xander like she would any over her peerage if they were injured, "Just try to catch your breath. I'll handle Ripper and then we can be properly introduced."

At the mention of the word Pawn a pain ripped through Xander's head. Closing his eyes reflexively, he sunk into a memory not his own. In the span of a second he witnessed the fight with Vizier and Rias explaining the Evil Pieces. 'She means I am literally a Pawn, not figuratively.'

"Ripper, you have forsaken your rightful King and fled his service," Rias proclaimed as she stood over the twitching demon. A softball sized orb of black-red energy in her right hand. "You have preyed on Humans and attacked my Precious Servant. In the name of the Four Satans I sentence you to obliteration." As she spoke the final word she slammed the orb into Ripper causing him to be consumed in flames, leaving nothing left, not even a scorch mark on the pavement. "Akeno, clean the scene. Koneko, carry Xander-san back to the Clubroom. Kiba, escort Koneko."

"Yes, Buchou," Came the simultaneous replies.

…

"I feel like a such a girl," Xander grumbled as Koneko carried him bridal style to the couch he had been laying on before. Deciding to ham it up a bit, Xander adopted an adoring look as he stared into Koneko's eyes, "Promise me we'll live happily ever. I'll stay home with the kids while you bring home the bacon. You'll come home and I'll rub your feet after serving you homemade cookies and hot chocolate. Our kids will show you the pictures they drew of their mommy kicking ass."

Koneko stopped dead in her tracks. The normally stoic girl blushed just the tiniest bit as Xander described the domestic scene. It was a little backwards from her ideal, but it was still sweet. For just a moment she got lost in her own fantasy, but was brought back to reality by a familiar chuckle. It was then she realized Xander was joking, not in a mean way, but just something to elicit some sort of response, "Xander-senpai… you are the worst."

Kiba Yuuto couldn't help the chuckle that such a request inspired. It was made all the funnier by Xander's tone of voice and Koneko's reaction. 'It takes a lot to get any sort of emotional response from Koneko. The fact that Xander can do it so easily is either a good thing, or very, very bad.' Recovering his composure, Kiba just shook his head as Koneko roughly dumped Xander on the couch.

"That's so cold, Koneko-chan," Xander pouted a bit as he carefully adjusted his position on the couch. He wasn't sure why he included the suffix, but it just felt right. Seeing Koneko's unflinching cold stare, he couldn't help but continue the teasing a little, "And yet it's still better than the last time I was rejected by a tiny blonde with super-strength, so hope springs eternal."

"Tch…" Koneko's rightbrow twitched a bit as she forced herself not to respond. Turning away from Xander she made her way to her usual seat and immediately started on one of the few cookies to survive the chaos earlier.

"Was it something I said?" Xander turned his attention to Kiba as he asked that. 'Ah, I missed this.'

"Yes," Kiba responded succinctly.

"Ah, I thought so," Xander sighed in faux realization, "It seems I put my size thirteen in my mouth again. You'd think I'd be better at Yoga considering how often I do that."

'Where did the serious warrior go?' Kiba shook his head as he tried and failed to completely suppress his mirth. A genuine smile replaced the one he kept as part of his mask. "Well if you don't properly warm up first you'll just pull muscles."

"Ah, see that's the problem," Xander nodded sagely, "I never know when I am going to be tasting foot until it happens."

"You should warm up every day then," Koneko offered in between bites of her peanut butter cookie.

…

Rias Gremory stepped out of the transport circle carrying two shopping bags and a slight smile on her lips. "Ah, I see you didn't try to make another escape attempt. Xander-san."

"I didn't see a point to it," Xander said as he twitched his head so he could see Rias without moving his torso, "My ribs still ache. None of my contact numbers work. I even tried calling out to Willow mentally, but the person I felt on the other end was not her." He quickly recited his reasons. Seeing the bags in her hands, Xander couldn't help but blurt out what he was thinking, "Harrod's? A little retail therapy for dealing with moi?"

"If that was the case I would have brought everyone and had you carrying the bags," Rias responded with a wide smile,

"It did not escape my attention that you needed some necessities and I refuse to provide my precious servants with substandard clothing and toiletries. I would have shopped locally, but it is only five in the morning."

"Buchou?" Koneko looked hopefully at the bags.

"I did not forget you, Koneko," Rias reached into the left bag and pulled out a Terri's Chocolate Orange tossing it to the young lady.

Koneko caught the box in midair and had it opened in under a second, "Thank you, Buchou."

"You're welcome," she continued as she pulled out a copy of Gordon Ramsay's Home Cooking and handing it to Kiba. "I know you have been looking for a new copy of this."

"Oh yes," Kiba gave another real smile as he clutched the book. His last copy had been destroyed by a faulty soy sauce bottle, "Thank you, Buchou."

Akeno Himejima appeared not a second later carrying bags of her own, "Ara Ara, did you go shopping without me. Buchou?"

"Just for Xander's essentials, Akeno," Rias replied with a nod to her Queen and sister in all but blood, "There is a new riding crop for you as well."

"You are too generous," Akeno smiled, "I decided to bring a snack as we haven't had much sleep. Thank Mou we do not have classes tomorrow."

"One thing I haven't had to worry about for almost seven years now," Xander chuckled as everyone muttered how they were lucky for once, "I want to apologize for my little freak out before. I've been the target of kidnappings and abductions WAY too many times because I was the weakest link." Xander's apology was made in a more sober voice, "As for getting me essentials, It's hardly necessary, Once I get in touch with the Council they'll take me off your hands."

"Oh, Xander-san, there is much we have to discuss," Rias sighed as she gently lifted his hand and then placed it in her lap after she sat down. She had channeled a little Devil Power into her pawn as she did so in order to keep his ribs from flaring with pain, "When you attempted to contact Willow, you were touching upon my mind. I just haven't figured out how to respond yet. You see, your world is a work of fiction here. A pair of Television shows called Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel the Series."

"Angel's show was just called Angel, Buchou," Koneko corrected Rias. "Gya-kun told me."

For once in his life, Xander Harris was completely struck dumb by something someone else said. He would have laughed it off as a particularly poor ruse, but ever since he lost the eye nobody could lie to him effectively. Baby Slayers particularly hated that he could always root out the truth. After a minute of silence he had just one thing to say, "Make with the splainy."

…

"... and here we are," Rias finished the hour long explanation of everything Xander needed to know about his present situation, from the Great War to what Devils actually did to how he had come to this new world. She had answered his serious questions as they came up. All that was really left convincing him to stay with her peerage and hopefully come to see them as friends.

"And because a *Night of Masks* only works with general archetypes or fictional characters you can't even use it to get your friend back," Xander would readily admit he researched the spell that had caused so much chaos, but had also left him a few tools. Casting it was well beyond his ability, but he had never planned to.

"Friend is a strong term," Koneko said without missing a beat, "But he was not too bad."

"Koneko-chan has a deep dislike of perverts and Issei was…" Akeno started to explain, but had to pause for a moment to consider how best to describe Issei and still respect the dead.

"...a proud super pervert," Kiba decided to finish for Akeno. While he wasn't close to Issei, it was easy to see the boy would take such a statement as a compliment.

"Exactly," Koneko nodded before going back to paying more attention to the cake Akeno had brought, "You are a vast improvement, Xander-senpai."

"Please let's remember that Issei was improving," Rias couldn't exactly chastise Koneko as the younger devil was just giving her honest opinion. 'Later I will have to speak to her about tact again.' "Xander-san, none of us expect you to be another Issei. Nor do we wish to make you forget your friends and family. We are hoping that eventually you will come to accept us as friends."

"Well, even if I had another choice I would find the offer very tempting," Xander's usual bluntness came out in full force, "But I really don't have one. I don't want to become like Fido nor do I have anywhere to go. From what you described you do your best to keep this town safe, and I can definitely work with that."

Rias was so relieved that she wasn't going to lose her newest servant that she surged forward and hugged him tight. Of course she did this by shoving Xander's face into her cleavage.

"Ufufufu, already temping Xander-kun with your body, Buchou, how forward of you,"

…

"Well, I am off on Patrol," Xander called out as he shrugged on his leather jacket. Everyone had slept most the day away waking up in time to have an afternoon brunch before they'd had to concentrate on their homework. Xander had attempted his normal PT routine, but found his younger body was lacking. He's still managed three quarters of them, so he had hope he could improve. "Does anyone want anything while I am out?"

"Chocolate," Koneko did not even look up from her Geometry homework as she spoke, "and Cheetos."

"Strawberry Kit Kat," Kiba responded without missing a beat. He was confident that Xander could handle himself after witnessing him working his katas. 'It's not like he'll come across two mid-class strays in less than twenty four hours.' He tossed Xander a money clip with a few thousand yen, "and a Mountain Dew Code Blue. Two Liter if they have it."

"I'd like some Pocky," Akeno flashed a sultry smile at Xander, "I need to teach you to play the game after all."

"Okay, Chocolate and Cheetos for Koneko-chan, Strawberry Kit Kat and Blue Dew for Kiba-san, and Pocky for Himejima-san," Xander repeated the list, "Buchou, I'm headed out. Do you want anything?"

"Going out? What? Why are you going out?" Rias had been so absorbed in her statistics homework she had been oblivious to everything, "We can send my Chiro-chan for snacks." With that, Rias summoned her familiar, a crimson Bat that hovered above her hand for a moment before gliding to a spot she could transform into an attractive black haired woman.

"I'm going on patrol. You know, look around for bad things that want to kill people," Xander explained trying not to sound condescending as he did so, "I'm bored and need to stretch my legs."

"Alright, but Chiro-chan will be watching over you just in case anything happens," Rias had truly considered not letting Xander patrol. There were still the Fallen Angels in her territory and she didn't trust them to not make an attempt on Xander. This morning he'd almost been killed by a Mid-class Stray if they hadn't found him. On the other hand she didn't want to make Xander feel as if he was a prisoner. "And don't engage any Strays you see, just reconnoiter and report back here."

'Well, at least she didn't insist I needed a team to guard me while I patrol,' Xander gave a half smile and nodded to Rias,  
"No problem. Unless they confront me, I got no problem just scoping them out. I'll get you some Daifuku and some Dots." With that Xander was out the door with Chiro-chan in tow.

"Alright, which one of you told him?"

_**A/N: Next Chapter will be the introduction of our favorite Nun Asia Argento. Also I have a poll on my Profile page. Please answer it with some thought. If you have an interesting thought about what Xander might have in his Pocket Dimension, just let me know via PM. Do not put it in a Review.**_


	3. Don't make a Habit of it

**Xander DxD**

**Disclaimer**: I do not own High School DxD, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Angel, Harry Potter, and Rifts  
**Major** AU: Do not expect this story to strictly follow canon for High School DxD.  
**Key**: "Talking" 'Thought' [Sacred Gear] (Pailamancy or Telepathy) *Technique*

**Author Note**: Because of a certain reviewer educating me on the Japanese School structure and it keeps imposing itself on my vision of the story I am going to share these notes now. Kuoh Academy will be an escalator school incorporating Junior High and High School. That's a total of six years. Now one could just list them as years one through six, but there is a well known stigma attached to the number four in Japanese culture. So classes will be denoted in ascending order J1, J2, J3, 1, 2, 3. Due to extra time I want to spend with arcs before Rias and Akeno graduate I am moving when Issei was killed. I am also following Japanese School Schedule… sorta… Kouh is a year round school with special hours as well. Classes start in April and run to July, September to December, and then January and February. Class hours are 8AM to 6PM, with the students having some breaks in the day to complete schoolwork. The Cafeteria is open 6AM to 8PM for staff or students.  
Rias Gremory Age 17 Class 2A  
Akeno Himejima Age 17 Class 2A  
Xander Hyoudou Age 16(25) Class 1C  
Kiba Yuuto Age 16 Class 1B  
Koneko Toujou Age 14 Class J3A (Yes there is a reason for me to go that young with her)**  
**

**Don't make a Habit of it.**

"But I already graduated once!" Xander was not whining. He was merely giving voice to his displeasure at being forced back into school. He had just returned from his patrol with the bag full of goodies when Rias announced he was successfully enrolled at school as a first year.

"Of a fictional school." Rias countered, "I don't doubt you have your High School Diploma, but everyone will think it's a fake. As it was Hermes had to have a false transcript written for you."

"But I blew up Sunnydale High… twice," Xander countered, "No respectable school would take me if they knew that."

"Well, it's a good thing nobody will tell them that, isn't it?" Rias smirked as she handed Xander his class schedule, "Not that many would believe you. There is no Sunnydale on the map and if you spoke about your misadventures people would think you were suffering delusions and then you'd be placed in the Psych-Ward. I much prefer having my precious servant enjoying his freedom."

"Yeah, some freedom, I'm your slave" Xander muttered under his breath, but quickly changed back to protesting his enrollment, "Couldn't I just get a job. I'm a master carpenter."

There was a flash of hurt in Rias' eye, but it was gone just as quickly, "You may be mentally twenty five, Xander-san, but physically you are seventeen and according to the law you are sixteen. No construction company in Japan would hire you for fear of losing their licenses. There is also the fact you graduated in nineteen ninety nine, it is currently twenty twenty. Your education could use some updating."

"I could… I am not going to win this argument at all, am I?" Xander asked as he looked to the others for confirmation. Seeing them all shake their head, Xander slumped his shoulders in defeat, "High School just sucked so badly last time and I was a normal human."

"I seriously doubt you were normal for a human, Xander-kun, ufufufu," Akeno covered her mouth as she gave a ladylike laugh. Seeing the slight hurt expression on his face, she did feel badly he took it the wrong way.

"Xander-senpai is going to be as popular as Kiba-senpai," Koneko said in between bites of her truffles, "As long as he is not as perverted as Issei-senpai."

Kiba's lips curled into the hint of a smile. He did like being well liked at the Academy, but at times it could be stifling. 'Perhaps my locker will not be stuffed full of panties as often.'

Xander glanced at Kiba and did a few quick calculations based on what he knew of teenage girls. 'I am not as handsome, but that's evened out by the eye-patch. I'm not quite as physically fit yet, but I'm also much bigger. Kiba exudes that Prince Charming aura, and I'm the lovable goofball with a hint of danger.' He was mentally tallying everything up, "Awww crap!"

"That is an excellent point, Koneko-chan," Rias smirked, "That will make things a lot easier. Issei was drawing attention to the ORC because despite having a heart of gold, he was part of the group that most girls did not associate with if they could help it. Thus him being close proximity to 3 of the five most popular girls in the entire school was gossip worthy."

"Ah yes, the Perverted Trio, now just a duo," Akeno placed finger to chin in thought, "Unfortunately you will be in the same class. If Koneko-chan's prediction is accurate, they'll attempt to make your life difficult." As she pictured the likely outcome of that confrontation, Akeno's face lit up in sadistic glee, "Won't they be in for a painful surprise, ufufufufu."

"See, Akeno knows that I could be a danger to the students," Xander knew he was grasping at straws. Dropping to his knees with hands clasped together he began to beg in earnest, "Please, Buchou, I'll do anything."

"Even give up Twinkies?" Rias arched an eyebrow as she asked that very loaded question. Gasper had told her one of Xander's biggest weaknesses.

"You're despicable," Xander's impression of Daffy Duck was spot on as he got back to his feet, "Fine, but I expect treats for good grades."

"Excellent, I knew you would see it my way eventually," Rias beamed at him, "Now, I will tutor you on Kanji. The *Devil's Tongue* ability allows you to speak, but reading them is another matter."

"Not necessary," Xander replied, "I can read and write English, Italian, French, German, Spanish, Swahili, Russian, Finnish, Arabic, Portuguese, Chinese, Japanese, Mongolian, Latin, Aramaic, Medu-Netjur, Sanskrit, Linear A, Linear B, Phoenecian, Ghoblay'd'kook, Veela, Mermish, Quenya, Sindarian, Klingon, Modern and Ancient Greek." Seeing that everyone's jaws dropped, Xander scratched the back of his neck, "The Watcher's Council had methods of dream teaching languages and It was better those odd dreams than the nightmares I was having."

"H-how many of those did you know before the magic?" Rias was still in a bit of awe. She knew less than half the languages that Xander admitted he could write.

Xander shrugged, "English, Spanish, Italian, and Klingon with smatterings of Quenya and Sindarian."

"I want to learn Klingon," Koneko gently tugged on Xander's sleeve to get his attention.

"Sure thing, Koneko-chan,"

…  
…

"You're not a slave, you know," Rias Gremory finally put voice to the pain she's been carrying for the last hour. What Xander had said cut her deeply. The Gremorys, in general, thought of their Peerages as family. For Rias this was particularly true. Akeno, Kiba, and Koneko were her siblings in all but blood, as was Gasper.

"Oh yes I am, Buchou," Xander's reply held only the tiniest bit of rancor as he spoke. He appreciated that Rias waited until they were alone to have this conversation. He had no doubt the others would view his resentment in the wrong light. "You don't see it that way. You don't even treat me like it, yet I am your slave."

The pair of them walked in silence for a minute. It was a lovely evening, the sunset casting a lovely red-orange tint to the sky. Rias was leading Xander to the Hyoudou home. Issei's parents had their memories rewritten to believe Alexander Lavelle Hyoudou was their son. Mentis had worked her magic well on them.

"How can you just say something like that?" Rias finally responded, her shoulders slumped. 'Please don't hate me. I don't think I could stand it.'

"The picture was painted to me clear as day, Buchou," Xander wasn't going to sugar coat anything and his tone was as serious as he got, "When you killed Ripper you declared that at least part of it was he left the service of his King. So I know that if I try to run away, I will be hunted down and killed. It's painfully obvious a Pawn has to do whatever their King wants for fear of death. How is that not being a slave?"

Rias actually stopped dead cold in her tracks. 'Of course that would be how he'd see it.' the realization hit like a freight train. She was thankful Xander had stopped and waited for her, even if he wasn't looking exactly patient. "In some ways you aren't exactly wrong. If you went stray, you would be hunted down." Rias wasn't going to lie to her new servant. "You would be brought back to me and I would have to mete out a punishment. You'd only be killed if you had murdered me or the others. Preying on humans would also lead to your destruction, but I feel that is as likely as God deciding to let Devils pray to Him."

"Well, that's a bit of a relief." Xander admitted, "I'd just leave you and the others alive then. I really wouldn't be worth hunting down. I'm just a Pawn."

"Don't say things like that!" Rias' couldn't contain her emotional outburst. Issei had said the same thing once. She hated the implication that she would care less about any of her peerage. "You're not just a Pawn. You are my only Pawn. It took all eight Pawns to reincarnate Issei. I dare say even if I had all eight back I wouldn't be able to reincarnate you."

"Alright, so I am a valuable Pawn," Xander responded offhandedly, "I am still your servant. Unwillingly on both our parts no less."

"You are a valuable Pawn, but not because of any power or skill you might have," Rias was getting a little heated as she spoke, "My Peerage are family to me. Akeno is my shimai, Koneko is my imouto, Kiba and Gasper are my otoutos. Issei was on his way to being another otouto…"

"So I would be your Onii-san?" Xander's heart unclenched just the tiniest bit. He still resented his enslavement, but that was hardly Rias' fault. 'I can throw her a life line.'

"Yes, that works," Rias said aloud as her entire demeanor changed back to her normal confident playful self, 'For now.' Hooking her arm in his, she started towards the Hyoudou house, "But you still have to call me Buchou."

"Alright, Buchou-chan."

…  
…

"This boy was obsessed with tits," Xander observed as he perused the hidden porn stashes that Issei had left behind. There were stacks of Playboy, Penthouse, Hustler, Cheri, and High Society magazines, each of them in a protective cover. There was a tote full of DVD porn movies of various studios. Then there was the silicone paizuri masturbation aid. He'd briefly considered tossing that one out, but it was still sealed in the box it had been shipped in. The fleshlight on the other hand was discarded right away. "I am almost afraid what the blacklight will reveal."

Other than the well hidden porn, Issei had left behind a rather neat and tidy room. Unlike his parents, he slept on a queen-sized bed. He had a nice student's desk where his weekend homework had been waiting to be done right next to a rather nice laptop. There was a fifty inch flatscreen television, a DVD player, a Playstation 4 and an X-Box. All in all it was the room of an upper-middle class teen who was spoiled a bit by his parents.

"Now let's see what he's been upto on the computer," Xander chuckled as he fired up the laptop. It had taken exactly one try to get the password: OppaiLover69. Clicking through his email, Xander found it had been scrubbed clean of everyone except the Hyoudous and the ORC. Backtracking through history showed an interesting trend of Issei avoiding a lot of the internet porn sites, "Probably had his last laptop crash from viruses."

"Well, let's get my Naruto Fanfic fix," Xander began typing in one of his favorite sites only to come up with a 404. Shaking his head, he went to FFN, it was there but there was no Naruto section, "What the fuck?" Some frenzied typing later Xander discovered something rather horrific, "No Naruto?! But why?!"

…  
…

"Wake up or I will kill you!"

Let it be said, it is not a wise idea to wake a sleeping Xander using a combination of chainsaw revving and a cute voice making a threat. While still mostly asleep he pulled a ball peen hammer from his Dimensional Pocket and began smashing the alarm clock as if it had stolen a twinkie. In seconds the device was little more than shattered plastic, silicon, and metal. With a yawn, Xander quickly put the hammer back before sitting up in bed.

"I'll need a new alarm clock," Xander muttered as he stood up scratching his ass through his boxers.

…  
…

"Making sure I didn't run?" Xander asked as he saw Rias sitting at the table eating breakfast.

"Not at all, I arrived to walk with you to school and your mother insisted that I join you for breakfast," Rias smiled as she picked up her chopstick, "So, how did you sleep?"

"Pretty well," Xander replied as he took his seat, "Just had a slight incident with the alarm clock. It's resting in pieces."

"Oh? You used to love that silly thing," Miki Hyoudou set down breakfast in front of Xander, "What happened?"

Xander was caught off guard. His real parents had been mostly indifferent to him, which he took as a blessing considering how they treated each other. He knew that it stemmed from his older sister's disappearance, but it still didn't change how it felt. So his new mother actually paying attention to him had been shocking, "The chainsaw girl just triggered me, nothing to worry about, Kaa-san."

"Well, then I won't worry too much," Miki smiled warmly before smoothing a stray lock of Xander's hair back into place, "Now, do you want Tea or coffee this morning."

"Coffee, two cups, four cream, five sugar, please," Xander responded automatically as he flashed a lopsided grin. "Breakfast looks delicious."

"So, Gremory-san, this Occult Research Club, are there any dues that Alexander hasn't told us of?" Gorou Hyoudou asked as he looked up from his paper.

"No, most of our funding is handled by my family, but we also hold small fundraisers from time to time to make ends meet when we must," Rias explained, "Why? Has Xander-kun asked you to fund Club activities?"

"Tch… Alexander is too independent to ask me for money," Gorou replied with a wistful expression, "He even works odd jobs to buy all his porn."

Xander had just taken a drink of his coffee and the resulting spit take was epic.

…  
…

"I can't believe he openly mentioned the porn in front of you," Xander shook his head at the absurdity of the situation. While the rest of breakfast had gone well, he felt like he'd lost some of Rias' respect.

"Well, Issei was very open about being a pervert," Rias chuckled, "I already knew about his extensive porn collection, so don't feel the need to throw it out to impress me." She paused for a moment with finger to chin in thought, "In fact you should keep it. No use in wasting a good resource."

'Good resource? Well, it will let me relieve the blue balls that I'll develop between her and Akeno,' Xander kept his thought private and quickly changed the subject, "I know you live much closer to the school than I do… so why come all the way out here to walk with me?"

"Well, it struck me that we need to get to know each other," Rias explained rather matter of factly, "I can learn a lot about you by watching the show, but that wouldn't let you get to know me at all, would it?"

"You're right, it wouldn't," Xander nodded as he considered things. 'Couldn't hurt to get to know them. It might even help me escape if the time ever comes.' "So, you aren't watching the show?"

"Oh no, I am watching. I just watched the first four episodes last night before I turned in," Rias smirked, "The last one was named Teacher's Pet."

Xander's reply was in Ghoblay'd'kook and had no direct translation to any known language. It involved someone's mother, bestiality with a rabid wombat, and directions for something physiologically impossible if you had a skeleton at all.

"I thought it was pretty amusing," Rias shrugged her shoulders at the rather vulgar profanity that Xander had uttered. She made a note to learn to pronounce it correctly for a future meeting with her fiancé. "So far my impression of you is extremely positive, Xander-kun. It's not many grown men that can be as brave as you are when the chips are down."

"Yeah, well there are years of my life to get through," Xander sighed, "From what I can remember, I had a few brief moments where I shined, but the rest of the time... not so much."

"We'll see."

…  
…

"Hello, my name is Alexander Lavelle Hyoudou. I prefer to be called Xander. I am in your care," Xander introduced himself to Class 2-B. Instantly there were whispered conversations going back and forth about the eyepatch. 'I wish I had one of my fun eyepatches about now. The Smiley Face would be great.' "Alright, to preempt me being asked the same questions over and over again: Is the eyepatch necessary? Yes. How did it happen? A homicidal maniac was upset I wouldn't let him kill my best friend's girlfriend so he gouged my eye out with his thumb. Can you see under the patch? If you want, but if you throw up on me I'll be very upset. Was it all fun and games until I lost the eye? No, two of my friends died that day. Anyone have a question I didn't address? Yeah, the girl with the glasses."

"Do you regret it?" Aika Kiryuu's voice cracked just a bit as she asked that question.

"Nope, it's made choosing Halloween costumes much easier," Xander chuckled as he began counting off options, "Pirate, Odin, Nick Fury, Snake Plisken, Kakashi…" The joke had the desired effect and almost everyone in the room shared a good laugh. "Alright, anything else. Baldy over there."

"This isn't a question, it's more a warning," Matsuda said as he stood up, "You better keep your hands off Koneko-chan, or else. I called dibs."

"Matsuda-san, that is enough," Takeshi-sensei barked out, "I will be reporting this to the Student Council."

"I don't have any designs to date Koneko-chan," Xander stated simply as he looked Matsuda dead in the eye.

"Considering she is only thirteen, I doubt it would go well for anyone dating her. Shovels and graves might be involved."  
At that moment Matsuda was sure he saw his own death in Xander's gaze. The normally brash young man clammed up and just nodded his head vigorously. Taking his seat back he turned his attention back to his text book. Anything to stop seeing what he saw in that chocolate brown eye.

"What happened?" Motohama was shocked his friend seemed to give up so easily. He knew it wasn't fear of a beating as they took that at least weekly from the Kendo club, "Normally you'd be clocking him one."

"I just realized that Lolis are not for me anymore," Matsuda shivered as Xander walked by him, "Younger is okay, but Lolis are not."

"Finally! Thank Kami," Motohama said, "I was afraid I would have to stage an intervention."

"You were going to stage an intervention?"

…  
…

"The Student Council are Devils." Xander observed casually as he took a seat next to Kiba at lunch. He'd actually been amazed the Prince Charming was surrounded by a gaggle of girls. As it was the blonde swordsman was surrounded by treats his adoring fans had gifted them. "Kaichou feels like Rias a little. The rest feel like you and Koneko. Though none of them feel like Akeno."

"Akeno-nee is special, but I can't divulge why," Kiba was a little impressed that Xander could actually feel other Devils, "How do you sense them?"

"Just a feeling," Xander shrugged, "I think growing up on a Hellmouth made me sensitive to the supernatural. It wasn't until I left that I noticed it at all. That town was just blanketed with supernatural evil."

"So we feel evil to you?" Kiba was a bit worried about what the answer might be. He had no doubt that given any time at all, Xander would be a force to be reckoned with. The way Gasper seemed absolutely terrified of the vampire hunter did not help.

"No, just supernatural with a tinge of Darkness." Xander replied with a shrug, "If anything you feel like the Groosalug, who is about as evil as Captain Kangaroo."

Kiba let loose a breath he hadn't realized he was holding, "Thank Maou, I don't want to imagine being hunted by you."

"Why does everyone think I am some bad-ass?" Xander was more than a bit mystified, "I was the weak link of the Scoobies."

"You were a normal human who willingly fought things several times stronger and faster than yourself," Kiba responded, "You survived fighting creatures like that for ten years. Even with the help you had you should have been dead in under five years. Now you are a Devil, which means you will be getting stronger, faster, and tougher as you train. You can see why I might be afraid if you think we are evil."

"Oh."

…  
…

"I am fourteen," Koneko said point blank to Xander as she approached him in the hallway. Then she delivered a love tap to Xander's breadbasket making the young man double over in pain.

"What was that for?" Xander wheezed.

"For saying I wasn't good enough to date," Koneko responded.

"I'm pretty sure I said I didn't have plans to date you," Xander was starting to get his breath back, "And I scared a pedo out of his sick perversion."

"Oh... sorry."

…  
…

"What the…?" Xander was more than a little surprised when he opened his locker to find three pairs of panties tumbling out. While this wasn't the first time he'd found lingerie stuffed in weird places, it was still always shocking. Scooping them up quickly, he moved to shove them back in and deal with the mess later.

"Ara Ara, it seems that there are some naughty girls interested in my kohai." Akeno Himejima's smile seemed amused, but it was clear in her eyes she was entering her infamous S-mode, "Or perhaps Xander-kun has been leading them on."

"If I was leading them on the panties would be in my pocket, not my locker, Akeno-chan," Xander chuckled as he began to stuff them back into his locker, only for them to burst into flames prompting him to drop them, "That wasn't too nice. You almost burned me."

"Naughty girls don't deserve to have you keep their panties," Akeno commented idly. "Unless they give them to you directly."

"You're like someone combined the best parts of Cordelia, Faith, and Anya, you know that?" Xander shook his head slightly at the young woman's antics, "So are you here for Buchou-chan?"

Akeno's eyes widened a bit as she heard Xander add the suffix. "She lets you call her that?"

"Like she could stop me," Xander flashed a lopsided smirk, "If Illyria the Merciless couldn't get me to stop calling her Illy, Rias has only one shot at getting me to stop… earning a new nickname."

"Ufufufu," Akeno covered her mouth as she laughed, "You are going to be just as interesting Issei was. But yes, Buchou did ask me to talk to you. She has an important family meeting tonight so the ORC will be delayed until seven."

"Well, that will give me enough time to complete the English homework at least." Xander nodded. "So then I'll see everyone at seven."

…  
…

"I am so sorry, I was off in my own world," Xander said as he saw the young lady he'd just knocked over. There was quite a bit of truth to his statement as he was just pondering the strangeness of his life and how it compared to before, "Here, let me help you up."

"It's partially my fault. I was just enjoying the scenery," the young girl said as she struggled up to her hands and knees. Her black neophyte habit hitching up to expose her white cotton panties.

Taking a calming breath, Xander reached down and gently picked the girl up and set her on her feet. Of course this caused the blonde haired girl to blush. "So what brings you to Kouh, Sister?"

"I am looking for the Catholic Church," She said, "Someone was supposed to meet me at the Train Station, but they never came. I thought I could find the Church on my own, but I am so lost."

"Well, Xander Hyoudou at your service, m'lady," Xander bowed with a flourish before straightening up. He was performing his full gentleman adventurer shtick that never failed to get a smile of the girls back home, "I shall guide you on your quest, for I know the proper path by happenstance."

"You will?" She lit up like a beacon, "Oh thank you so very much, Xander-san. I was afraid I'd never find anyone who would help. I'm Asia Argento."

"Well met, Lady Asia," Xander continued on in character. He then took her suitcase before offering her his other arm, "Surely the Fates are smiling upon me this day to meet someone of your beauty and grace."

Asia blushed a deep red upon hearing that, but still took Xander's proffered arm, "And I am truly blessed by the Lord meeting you, Xander-san."

"So, they are reopening the Church? That will make acquiring Holy Water much easier in the future," Xander dropped his act and began an actual conversation.

"Oh, I did not know you were an Exorcist," Asia's voice quivers a bit, "but you're not affiliated with my host."

"Me, an Exorcist? That's a laugh," Xander chuckled, "Not that the Church didn't offer, but after that Cardinal called my Willow an Abomination that should be purged, there was no way I'd work for them. Even after the Pope sent his apology."

"You still fight Devils then?" Asia's tension seemed to vanish.

"Yeah," Xander began, but then remembered his current situation, "Well, I hunt the ones who harm people. I figure the Big Guy would be big on forgiveness for the ones that aren't hurting people."

"I believe that as well," Asia said after a moment, "The Lord preaches to love thy enemy."

"Exactly, though some people take that a bit too far as well," Xander chuckled as he remembered how often Buffy had been caught having sex with vampires. "But enough shop talk. I'd like to get to know my new friend."

"Friend?" Asia nearly tripped over her feet in shock, "I'm your friend?"

"Sure thing, Asia-chan," Xander flashed his lopsided grin, "I only make friends with the best people and I am a pretty good judge of character. So why wouldn't I want to be your friend?"

"I've just… I've never had a friend before," Asia choked up for a moment, "I've been raised by the Church and because of my power, I've been isolated from anyone near my age."

"I'll take a wild stab in the dark that you can heal people," Xander had mentally gone through powers that the Church would value. The top two were a Slayer and a Healer. Since Asia was far too timid to be a Slayer, then she was definitely a Healer, "They didn't take you from your parents did they?"

"Oh no, I was abandoned at a Convent when I was a baby. The Sisters raised me, but I didn't even know about my power until I had found a wounded puppy," Asia was quick to refute the idea she'd been stolen, "Then I was moved to a larger church where I helped many of the faithful. I was truly happy doing God's work..."

"Something happened, didn't it?" the wistfulness in Asia voice was not lost on Xander. He'd heard the same tone from several Council Witches who'd been disowned. "I could guess at it, but it would just be a stab in the dark.:

"Oh no, I don't mind telling a friend," Asia shook her head for a moment before she started to explain, "Not long ago I came across a wounded Devil. He was bleeding so much and was barely conscious as he huddled behind the compost bin. I just couldn't leave him there to suffer…"

"So you did the good thing and healed him," Xander continued for her when Asia paused, "And the Church did not take kindly to that."

"No, they claimed I was a Witch," Asia whispered, "That my power was from a Pact with Satan. I was excommunicated and they were going to burn me at the stake."

Xander had to bite his tongue to stop himself from issuing death threats on a bunch of old clergymen. 'She doesn't need to hear all that.' Centering himself for a moment he responds, "I can't say if you did the right thing or not, but I do believe you did the good thing. They had no right to judge you for following the teachings of the Bible."

"Thank you for not judging me, Xander-san."

…  
…

"Well, I know where the Fallen Angels are hiding out," Xander said as he took a sip of the tea Akeno had served. The effect was immediate. Everyone's head swiveled so they were looking directly at him, "I met a Sacred Gear wielder who's been excommunicated after she healed a Devil. She's said her hosts are housing her in the Catholic Church. She was lost, so being the nice guy I am I guided her there. From what I could feel there were four Fallen inside and at least one human with some magical ability."

"This is problematic, according to the ceasefire the Devils have to allow the other two factions to use any Houses of Worship even if they are abandoned," Rias chewed a bit on her thumb as she absorbed this news, "Did they notice you?"

"I'd say yes, at least one did," Xander replied with a nod, "Though I doubt she is a threat to me."

"Don't get cocky, Xander-kun," Kiba shook his head, "Fallen Angels can create weapons made of light, even a weak one can hurt most Devils."

"Oh, I wasn't thinking I could take her in a fight," Xander scratched the back of his head, "I just know the smell she was giving off quite well. She's only a danger to my chastity."

"Xander-senpai," Koneko stared balefully at him, "Stop being lewd."

"Ara ara, a forbidden romance between Fallen and Devil, how naughty," Akeno giggled a little. "Does my little Kohai need to be punished?"

"Oi, I was just telling you what I smelled," Xander sighed, "I haven't done anything lewd with her or anyone else since I got here."

"Well, it has only been a few days," Kiba put in and then when he received a glare from Xander he just chuckled, "Just saying that there were quite a few girls that wanted to know where you lived so they could have study dates with you."

"Back on topic, do you think they know where you live?" Rias asked more than a little concerned, "Because I can sleep in your house if you think it will dissuade them from attack."

"No, I didn't go back home after dropping Asia off at the Church," Xander replied, "One of them followed me, but they broke off when I got near the school boundaries. So unless they know I was Issei once upon a time, they have no clue." Xander paused for a few moments, "What I am concerned with is why the Fallen want a Healer. Two options spring to mind: They are planning a war of attrition or they have a way of stealing her Sacred Gear."

…  
…


	4. TANSTAFFL!

**Xander DxD**

**Disclaimer**: I do not own High School DxD, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Angel, Harry Potter, and Rifts, Nor do I own The Moon is a Harsh Mistress, Blade III, Army of Darkness, or the Orville. If you recognize anything I don't own it.

**Major AU**: Do not expect this story to strictly follow canon for High School DxD.

**Key**: "Talking" 'Thought' [Sacred Gear] (Pailamancy or Telepathy) *Technique*

**TANSTAAFF!**

"What the hell was that?" Kiba Yuuto was flat on his back staring up at the sky, his ears ringing, and his whole body felt like one massive bruise. He didn't need to look around to know that Akeno, Koneko, and even Rias were all in similar positions. "I thought we told him no flashbangs!"

Koneko was curled up into a ball of pain. Confident there would be no flashbang she had opened her senses fully. Now she was paying an awful price as it felt like giants were striking a gong over and over again in her ear.

"Ara ara, my naughty kohai has an S-side," Akeno all but purred even as she stayed still so as to avoid throwing up.

"I'm sorry, I can't hear a thing over the ringing in my ears," Rias responded as she tried to sit up, only to have a wooden bokken placed to her throat. "You cheated."

Xander just flashed that lopsided grin of his before helping Rias to her feet, then following suit with Kiba, Akeno and finally Koneko. He did feel a little sorry for Koneko being hurt so badly, but it was better the point was illustrated this way and not on an actual battlefield. "Alright, you should be able to hear me now. Does anyone want to venture a guess as to why you lost so badly."

"You cheated," Rias repeated in a slight huff, "We said no Flashbang and you used one."

"Xander-senpai is a cheat." Koneko nearly hissed. 'Xander-baka giving me a migraine.'

Akeno's eyes lit up with an unholy combination of wrath and lust. "Ara ara, Xander-kun needs to be punished."

"This wasn't a fair fight," Kiba groaned as he nursed some of the tiny bruises littering his body.

"One thing you all need to get through your heads right now, TANSTAAFF!" Xander was tempted to adopt his Drill Sergeant Harris voice, but decided to save that for later, "There's Ain't No Such Thing As A Fair Fight! Fair is for board games. The enemy will cheat, you should do the same. Of course I used a flashbang. I don't have Koneko's strength and durability. I don't have Kiba's speed. I don't have Akeno's or Rias' magic. What I do have is a lot of combat experience and a ton of tricks up my sleeve. After the flashbang stunned the lot of you, I tripped the training claymores I planted here before you all arrived. If I had been a Fallen Angel or an Exorcist you'd all be dead now. Hell forbid some Stray Devil with military training gets the drop on you."

"So not only do we have a lot of work to do on learning how to cheat, but on our situational awareness as well," Rias groaned as she began to rub her temples.

"Yep, but it won't take too long," Xander gave a wolfish grin, "Two hours of group training a day then surprise individual sessions should instill the proper level of constant vigilance and a nice repertoire of dirty tricks by the end of the month. Or it could trigger a paranoid psychotic break. "

"We're doomed." Koneko groaned.

…  
…

"And why am I carrying you all the way to my house again?" Xander wasn't sure if he was in Paradise or Tartarus at the moment. Rias Gremory, arguably one of the sexiest women he'd ever seen, let alone touched, was riding him piggy back style. She was so exhausted that she was slumped against him, pressing those wonderful breasts into his back.

"Because you wore all of us out with training, you brute," Rias' teasing tone made it clear she was far from upset about the ordeal. She had learned a lot from Xander in just one day. 'I'd never considered using the *Power of Destruction* as a shield before. I just wish he hadn't driven us into the ground so hard,' Rias snuggled into her pawn's back a little more, "I barely had enough energy to send everyone else home."

"Alright, I get that, and I fully accept responsibility for wearing you out. I should have started with conditioning drills," Xander conceded as he continued down the street, "And arguably using six pitching machines to lob baseballs at you for dodging practice was little much, but that doesn't explain why you want to go to my house."

"I'm too exhausted to bathe myself let alone cook dinner," Rias explained with a small grin of her own. It had been nearly a week since Xander's appearance in her life. The time for mourning the loss of Issei was coming to a close, after all she'd only known him for a few weeks. Now was the time for her to start really teasing her new servant, "I thought you, being the gentleman you are, could help me, Xander-kun~."

Pausing in his tracks, Xander nearly dropped Rias. That was partially due to shock, and partially the mental imagery of helping bathe Rias. He'd never been accused of having a poor imagination, but at this moment it was causing an issue. Not only were his jeans getting tight, his mind was entering the dangerous blue screen of death mode. "B-bathe you?"

"Oh does someone have fantasies about sharing a bath with me?" Rias cooed in Xander's ear as she used what little energy she had to wriggle against him. 'I could have so much fun with this.' "Well it's your lucky night, Xander-kun."

"Ever since I read the Kama Sutra," Xander nodded as his face fell into a goofy grin, "I've wanted to help a girl bathe like a husband is supposed to help his wife. Cordelia and I never moved past second base. Faith's idea of romance was giving a ten minute warning. Anya, for all that I loved her, didn't see the point if there weren't orgasms to be had. After Sunnydale I just never seriously dated another girl, despite what those comics say. So one lifelong Xander fantasy just never got fulfilled."

"Hmm, I've never actually read the Kama Sutra, I assumed it was just a sex book," Rias mused as Xander seemed to get his bearings back, "But if that what my Xander-kun wants as a reward for training us all so well, then he can bathe me after every session."

"You win this round, Buchou-chan."

"Oh me, I've stumbled upon the great Rias Gremory when she's too exhausted to even lift a finger," The gleeful edge to Kalawarner's voice spoke volumes of just what she would love to do to the crimson haired Devil. Flipping her navy blue hair back over her shoulder the sultrily dressed fallen angel formed a golden *Light Spear*, "And she's riding such a tempting morsel. I'll tell you want, Gremory-san, surrender now and I'll let you watch as I rape your boytoy before you die. Raynare made me miss out on enjoying the pervert."

_Flashback_

_"But why?" Issei Hyoudou asked as he clutched the lightspear protruding from his belly._

_"I thought you could have at least one day of happiness before you died, Issei-kun," Raynare wouldn't look into his eyes, "Kala would have spent the day raping you. Dohnaseek would have played with you like a cat does a mouse. As for Mittelt…" Raynare visibly shuddered, "...you don't need that imagery before you die."_

_"Why… me…?" Issei coughed up some blood as Raynare had dissipated the spear. _

_"You have some Sacred Gear that is scaring their boss shitless," Raynare sighed, "Now just stop talking, it just makes it more painful. Just drift off to sleep and soon you'll be in paradise."_

_End Flashback_

"You're the Kala that Raynare warned Issei about," Xander's voice dipped into a low rumbling growl as he began to set Rias on her feet. "I hate rapists," He muttered as he flicked out his hands a metallic cha-chink echoing in the street as the Dragon's Hand Twice Critical manifest on both hands. "Bring it."

[Twice Critical]

"Ah, so the little pervert lived long enough to tell his tale. Ray-tan must be getting soft," Kalawarner cackled as she casually threw her *Light Spear* at Xander before forming another one, "Yes, I am Kalawarner. Remember it as you'll be screaming it when you beg me to stop."

Xander was almost insulted at the softball slow approach of the first light spear. He'd practiced with his slayers on dodging spears that they threw at full speed. Surging forward he backhanded the attack away, ignoring the searing pain it caused in his arm even through the gauntlet. Wrapping one hand around Kalawarner's throat, Xander's hand was just large enough to start a good blood choke.

Kalawarner's eyes widened in shock. 'Fuck he's fast!' She tried to pull away from the hand gripping her throat only to feel the fingertips squeeze even harder. In her panic she had forgotten she had even formed another spear for a moment. However that moment passed and she tried to drive the weapon into Xander's gut.

Xander saw the flash of movement and acted quickly. Grabbing Kala's arm by the wrist he savagely twisted it causing a very audible crack as he broke both ulna and wrist in one motion. The *Light Spear* dissipated but unfortunately the distraction and Xander's blindspot left him open.

"ARRRGGGH! YOU BASTARD! I'LL KILL YOU!" Kalawarner screamed rage as the adrenalin began flowing. Forming another *Light Spear* and shoving it into the arm that was holding her throat,

"RAAARGGGGH!" Xander's roar of pain echoed down the street as he tossed Kalawarner away from him, His left arm was limp by his side as the *Light Spear* dissipated showing that not only had his bicep and tricep been pierced but his humerus was severed. Despite this, Xander was still standing, "You ruined my shirt. I liked this shirt."

'Dear God, he should be on the ground moaning about how much pain he is in. Not looking at me like he's deciding if my ribcage would make a nice hat.' Kalawarner backpedaled away from what she assumed was a deranged monster. It was amazing how quickly she could go from angry to scared, "Nooo! STAY AWAY!" With that she jumped into the air and began flying at her top speed back to the Church.

Rias was astonished. She'd been prepared to act using the last of her magical reserves to kill the Fallen to save Xander, but it had been unnecessary. In less than five seconds, Xander had wounded and driven off Kalawarner all on his own. Unfortunately he had taken a rather horrific wound doing so. 'Damn it, I have enough magic to close the wound, but that's it."

Xander panted out a few deep calming breaths as he carefully tucked the Primal back in the cage. He hated letting it loose as it tended to go completely overboard. Now that the adrenalin was fading, Xander could feel all his wounds. 'Fuck, I really did a number to myself. I'm getting sloppy' Reaching behind his back with his good hand he grabbed one of the special bottles out of his dimensional pocket. "Buchou-chan, I am going to need some help... Please."

"Of course, Xander-kun," Rias rushed to his left side as she prepared the spell to staunch the bleeding only to have Xander shove what looked to be a soy sauce bottle filled with glowing green liquid inside, "Xander, I am trying to…"

"Just sprinkle this in the wounds," Xander sank to his knees as the blood loss was making him too dizzy to keep standing, "I'll… explain… after."

"Alright~" Rias quickly flicked open the top and started dashing some of the green liquid into the gaping wound on his arm. Immediately it began to fizz and then steam rose from the hole. Before Rias' eyes the missing marrow began to form attaching to two bone fragments. Xander quickly grabbed his lower arm and held it in position as deposits of calcium and bone were forming around the marrow. Blood vessels began to grow as did sinew and then skin. In just under a minute the only hint that Xander had an arm hanging by a thread was the blood that soaked his shirt and pants.

"Amazing."

"Mohra Blood, one of best healing agents in the world," Xander gently took the bottle back and started sprinkling some on the burn from batting the light spear away, "Incredibly hard to come by. I only happen to have some as there were three of them sent to kill me."

Rias stared at the bottle as if it was the most precious of treasures, "We have something like that in the Underworld, the Tears of the Phenex clan can heal and restore stamina, but they are rare."

"Well this stuff is good for healing as well as turning the undead into a normal human," Xander explained as he closed the cap and quickly tucked the bottle away, "Would have used it on Ampata, but never got the chance…"

"Well, if there is a multiverse then I am sure one of you got the chance," Rias placed a comforting hand on Xander's shoulder and then kissed his cheek, "Thank you."

"For what, Buchou-chan?" Xander was just a bit perplexed. 'I usually end up receiving an hour long lecture / rant for getting in the way.'

"Fighting off that Fallen," Rias snuggled into Xander's side just a bit, pressing her curves against him, "I could have taken her, but I likely wouldn't wake up until noon tomorrow if I had."

…  
…

"OOOOoooOOOHHH MAOU!" Rias's orgasmic moans echoed in Xander's bathroom. From the cries of pleasure any eavesdroppers would assume Xander was either orally pleasuring her or fucking her stupid. The truth was much cleaner in reality, Xander was massaging her scalp as he washed her hair. "That feels sooo goood. I don't know if I could ever go back to doing it myself."

"A literal hair trigger." Xander muttered under his breath as he continued his self appointed task. Rias had insisted that he bathe with her, so he was currently pressed between the back of the tub and the crimson locked vixen. Her moans of delight from just washing her back and hair, were having a very pronounced effect on his second head, "Well, you can command me to do this for you every night. At least until you get married. I doubt your husband would appreciate a lowly commoner touching his wife."

Rias was snapped out of her orgasmic bliss at the oblique reference to her fiance. 'Maou how I hate Riser even more now. Keeping me away from my Xander.' She was tempted to refute what he said, but she had resolved not to lie to him at all. "How do you know I will be marrying another noble?"

"Only makes sense, you're practically Devil royalty from what I gathered," Xander mused as he began to rub her neck, working out the kinks that were presently trying to form. "You're the Heiress of an important family. There aren't many families that allow their heirs to marry for love. So, you're likely in a contract to another noble, but not an heir."

"One day I will convince you to tell me how you do that," Rias's voice hitched as Xander's ministrations caused another surge of pleasure, "Yes, I am betrothed to Riser Phenex the third son of the The Phenex clan." Rias paused again, struggling to find the right words, "He is a philandering pig. His peerage is full of women and it's no secret he forces himself on a number of them. His only desire in marrying me is to improve his station and to keep me barefoot and pregnant. He's already threatened to have Kiba gelded once I marry him. You are so much more a threat to him, so I have no idea of how he'll act."

Xander paused for a moment as he tried to picture the kind of jerkoff this Riser was. Images of Warren Mears came to mind. Images of the scrawny misogynist pawing at Rias flooded his imagination. He unconsciously released a slightly possessive growl at the thought, "If you want, I will gladly kill him even if they declare me a Stray."

"NO!" Rias shook her head wildly, "They'd torture you to death for that," She was shaking in panic that Xander would ignore her protest and still strike out against Riser, "I will find a way to end the engagement without losing you... or the others. We have a few years before the wedding…Right now we need to focus on rescuing that Nun friend of yours."

"...if you say so, Buchou-chan," Xander had to take a moment to clear his head. 'Wow, I almost went full Alpha Primal on the girl. I need to calm down.'

…  
…

"How did I get in the bed?" Xander questioned as he opened his eye and looked to the ceiling. He'd set out his bedroll at the foot of the bed and racked out almost immediately after dinner. Now it was morning and he could tell he'd spent most the night in the same bed as Rias, both of them naked.

"You were having a nightmare," Rias sat up, seeming to not caring at all that she was exposing her lovely assets to Xander. She did note with some amusement that he was a breast man, he was just far more subtle than Issei. "I think you were fighting the man that took your eye. Caleb? It kept happening over and over and I just couldn't let you suffer."

"You levitated me into bed, stripped my clothes, and cuddled me," Xander wasn't really asking. The last time he'd had the dreams it was the mother of two of his Slayers who'd done that. Before that some of the Sunnydale survivors would have to. Hell, even Kennedy had taken a turn, then teased him about being the only man she slept with. It had never been sexual, just comfort, "Thank you, Buchou-chan."

"You are most welcome, Xander-kun," Rias grinned as she leaned down and kissed his cheek, "Although I have to ask…"

"Fought a minotaur, the locals insisted I had to eat the heart raw and thus what you see" Xander sighed as he knew exactly what she was going to ask. "Not the strangest custom I was introduced to, at least it had some positive effects."

"I'll say."

…  
…

"Hyoudou-san."

Xander turned to face the familiar female voice. His eye hardened just a little and his fist clenched reflexively. 'Just keep calm. She might have killed the kid, but she wasn't a complete monster about it,' Adopting his happy to help face he addressed the fallen angel, "Raynare-san. This is an unexpected meeting. I would have set up some lovely surprises if I knew you were going to be here. If you leave and come back in an hour, I am sure I can arrange one hell of a bang."

"You really are him. When Asia-chan described you I thought some jerkoff was cosplaying as you," Raynare's voice was barely above a whisper as she spoke, "I know I don't deserve it, but I need your help. Otherwise Asia-chan is going to end up like… Issei-kun."

'What the…? Actual remorse. I didn't see that in Issei's memory.' Xander frowned for a moment, "You did kill the kid, painfully I might add. Now you're threatening to kill one of my girls, if you know who I am, you know how bad a move that is."

"I didn't want to. I don't want to kill any humans. I fell because of my love for a human," Raynare snapped back, "I'm just deep undercover. Someone in the Grigori is planning something BAD. Big capital letters, bold face, and underlined. Azazel still has no clue what it is and my assignment might give us the only warning we're gonna get." Raynare took a breath to calm down, "I've seen the series. I know you can help Asia."

Xander facepalmed for a moment, "Fuck."

"I wish," Raynare scoffed, "Our group was ordered to eliminate Issei-kun. I wasn't about to let one of those freaks torment that sweet boy…"

"He was a massive pervert, you know."

"Oh, I know, I watched him for weeks," Raynare smirked, "He would have been great boyfriend material, never complaining when I bring home girls…"

Xander raised his hand "Alright stop right there, I don't need to be sporting wood when I go back to class. Let me guess, you've been ordered to kill Asia?"

"Killing would be a kindness," Raynare huffed, "Somehow Kalawarner got her hands on the prototype Sacred Gear extractor. From what Azazel told me he had to redesign the whole thing because instead of a fast painless process it was a long torture session. Not just physical pain, but rending at the soul."

"Alright, I can make like El Mariachi, take out the others and you escape with Asia..."

"No, I need to stay undercover. Escaping with Asia would just leave her right in the path of that monster," Raynare countered with a shake of her head, "There are also fifty Rogue Exorcists holed up in that church. Tonight I will convince Freed Sellzen to interrupt a Devil Summoning and suggest he take Asia along to teach her the ropes." She paused for a moment, "Definitely kill him, if you can."

…  
…

"I don't like this plan," Surprisingly it was Akeno who spoke first after Xander relayed the events of his meeting, The Yamato Nadeshiko crossed her arms under her bust as she spoke. "That Fallen is the one that killed Issei. She could be setting a trap for Xander-kun."

"Far more likely she's been discovered and the others are setting a trap without her knowledge," Xander supplied with a shrug, "As for her killing Issei, after meeting Kalawarner last night, I think she was doing the kid a favor. If you had resurrected him after that bitch was done you'd be lucky if he didn't run screaming from any female."

"Well, Raynare-san likely believes you will be arriving alone," Kiba ventured, "And likely this exorcist will set a barrier after you arrive so we can't use a normal magic circle to come to your aid. Perhaps we should turn their expectations back upon them."

"That's my thought," Xander smirked, "We don't need to wait for tonight. Sure the Student Council will get a little angry with us, but it's not the first time I skipped class for Slayage. We storm the Church now when they aren't expecting anything. Besides I have a new toy I haven't got to play with yet."

"Dare I ask what you consider a toy?" Rias eyed her pawn with a slight bit of trepidation. 'He looks far too giddy.'

"Puff the magic dragon, lived by the sea.~" Xander began to sing.

…  
…

"It's time Asia," The Fallen Angel Dohnaseek held out his hand for the former nun. Even inside the Church he was dressed in his trenchcoat and fedora. "Soon you will be on your way to your reward."

"You're more than a day early Dohnaseek," Raynare sneered at the man. 'God I really hate working under them.' "Tomorrow night is the full moon. You should really learn to read a calendar."

"And really need to learn to notice when you are being followed," Mittelt formed a pink *Light Spear* placing the tip at the brunette's throat. "Give me an excuse, I haven't had a taste of Fallen Angel flesh in some time."

"Mittelt-sama, there is no need to threaten Raynare-sama," Asia stood up from where she was kneeling, "I will come along."

"Oh but we need this bitch, too," Dohanseek smirked, "She's going to be the battery for our little device."

"Oh fuck," Raynare muttered.

…  
…

"I feel naked without a cross," Xander muttered as he stepped past the front gate of the Church's property. He was dressed in his light combat garb. Black jeans, work boots, black t-shirt, tactical vest loaded with plate carrier, arm pads, and knee pads. The final piece was a 'Hello my name is: HAIL TO THE KING!' name tag. "Everyone ready? Call them out by the numbers. Pawn is ready."

"Knight is ready," Kiba had changed into his light kendo armor without the helmet. He had his favored sword sheathed by his side and had added some grenades to his belt that were gifts from Xander.

"Rook is ready," Koneko was dressed in her gym clothes, a simple white shirt and blue shorts. She had pads on her elbows and knees as well as a pair of weighted MMA gloves with a cat paw print on them. She wasn't carrying any grenades, but did have several sets of handcuffs.

"Queen is ready~," Akeno was completely enjoying the atmosphere. Dressed as the miko she had been trained to be from a young age, she was no less ready for battle than the rest.

"King is ready!" Rias felt a little odd taking orders from her pawn, but she was bowing to experience. She was still dressed in her school uniform, but like Kiba had added some grenades to her arsenal.

"Rook, open this jar of pickles," Xander smirked as he quoted the show that Koneko had insisted they had to watch together. 'Score she almost smiled.'

"Xander-baka," Koneko muttered as she surged forward and gave the main doors of the church a mighty kick. The results were nearly explosive. The twin twenty foot doors were completely blown off their hinges and landed amongst the pews on each side of the aisle.

"Look it's some shitty devils coming to the House of God!" Freed Sellzen was far too excited, The blonde haired man in priest robes was marching in place. "I am going to be your confessor today you shitty devils. So just save yourself some trouble and jump on my light sword. Well, you devil girls can jump on my cock first. Not the Loli though, I do have standards. Even if she is super adorable."

Next to that the other fifty exorcists looked rather sane as they only had murderous looks in their eyes as they lit their own Light Swords.

"Oh, you don't mind if we make this a gangbang do you?" Freed asked an actual tinge of curiosity in his voice. "My colleagues here want to have some fun carving you up."

"I, Rias Gremory, Heiress of the House of Gremory will give you just one chance to surrender," Rias stepped forward flanked by Akeno and Kiba, "You will be allowed to live but will be stripped of all your weapons and tools. Then you will be given coach airfare to the country of your choice."

"Surender? Never. There's four of you shitty devils…" Freed started to reply.

"Five." Rias corrected him as a whirring sound filled the air.

"Five? I only see four. And what is causing that sound?" Freed asked.

"Now!" Rias said as she spread her wings and leapt to the air. Koneko, Kiba, and Akeno followed suit.

"This is my BRRRT stick." Xander had been standing behind his new friends, legs braced for the mayhem he was about to unleash. While the others had been talking he'd pulled out his latest birthday gift from the Council: an XM214 Microgun that Andrew and Willow had enchanted just for him, including a spell for recoil reduction and endless ammo. He'd only ever been able to take it to the range so this was the true trial by fire. Currently the barrels were whirling at speed and Xander's finger just pulled the trigger.

"Oh fuck me!" Freed had just enough time to realize what was happening before the trigger was pulled. As the first few rounds exploded out of the barrels, He'd dove for the only cover worth a damn, the granite cross behind the altar.

BRRRRRRRRRRRRRT! BRRRRRRRRRRRT! BRRRRRRRRRRRT!

The other exorcists weren't as lucky. Xander was liberally spraying the temple with high velocity jacketed lead. None of them were able to escape as they were peppered with scores of rounds. Blood sprayed everywhere from the dead and dying. Men were torn apart. Arms or legs were torn off. Some skulls even exploded. Xander kept firing for two full minutes before easing up on the trigger and letting the barrels cool.

"That was FUN!" Xander grinned widely as he addressed Rias and the other who were holding their hands over their ears.

"Fun? What kind of psychopath are you?" Freed peeked out from behind the cross.

BRRRRRRTT!

Xander released a few hundred rounds at the cross Freed was hiding behind. "Nobody was talking to you, Altar Boy."

"Oi, you take that back, right fucking now," Freed cried out as he fired his gun blindly around the cross.

"Or what?You'll shoot in my general direction?" Xander laughed as the rounds went wided not even coming within ten feet of him. "I can do this all day."

"I bet you can Psycho-kun, but the Nun and the Fallen Slut don't have that long," Freed reloaded his pistol and prepared for another volley. "They're having a draining experience in the basement.

"Pawn, I will handle him," Kiba called out as he drew his sword. Landing with a soft thump, he dashed towards the cross and delivered a slash. A moment there was a crack as a diagonal cut appeared near the base and the majority of the cross slipped off the pedestal. "Greetings Exorcist-san, my name is Kiba Yuuto, Knight of Rias Gremory. I will be your opponent."

"Oh, so you bat for the other team, Devil-kun?" Freed abandoned his non-existent cover, and readied his sword. "I am flattered even if I don't swing that way."

"Why does everyone assume that witty, urbane, and polite means homosexual?" Kiba's tone was calm, but there was a pulsing vein in his forehead. Channeling some of his fury in his strikes, Kiba went on the offensive.

"Now this is more like it," Freed was back to having a ball. He lived for killing, but a good fight was always nice, "Show me what you have, Devil-kun."

…  
…

"They didn't bother with any magical traps," Rias said after a brief examination of the Altar that was sitting atop the stairs, "They must have thought fifty exorcists would be enough."

"There are three triggers for moving the Altar, but Pawn ruined all of them with his toy," Akeno sighed heavily as had performed the more physical inspection, "We'll have to destroy it."

"Move." Koneko muttered before she just simply ripped the altar out of the floor and tossed it aside, "Done."

"Thanks. Rook-chan," Xander had stashed his microgun already mainly as lugging it around was a chore. Bounding down the stairs with the girls on his heels he stopped cold at the sight before him.  
Asia had been stripped down to just a thin cotton chemise before being chained up to macabre cross adorned with acidic green runes. The nun was limp in the chains, her eyes barely open as her face was twisted up in agony. As if the scene was not morbid enough, Raynare was chained to a similar cross only it's runes were blue and she'd been stripped naked.

"Oh look, if it isn't the Crimson Bitch's Boytoy, come to save them?" Kalawarner sneered as she greeted Xander, "Well, you can have them, if you can get past my friends."

"We meet again, Gremory-dono, except this time you are the interloper," Dohnaseek formed a *Light Spear* in each hand, "Perhaps now we will see if you have the ability to match your family name."

"Ah, Dohnaseek, I do remember you," Rias smirked as she called forth a pair of mandalas. "We won't be having a third encounter."

"Oh my, you look absolutely delicious, Miko-san," Mittelt grinned wide showing that her teeth were all razorsharp. "I could feast on you for days before you die."

"Ara ara, the first person to offer to eat me and it isn't Xander-kun, fate is so cruel to me," Akeno faked a swoon.

"Pawn, Rook, we'll take care of these two," Rias called out, "Get Asia and Raynare out of here."

"The ego of you lower creatures astounds me," Dohnaseek snarled, "You won't handle us, we'll slaughter you." With that proclamation he through both of the spears he'd formed at Rias only for them to be blocked by Rias' *Shield* with seemingly no effort on her part.

"You can dish it out, but can you take it?" Akeno's smile became sadistic as she conjured lightning to throw at the Fallen duo.

"Bitch, that nearly singed my hair," Mittelt screamed as she barely dodged the lightning.

…  
…

"Xander-san… it's you… you came," Asia's tired face lit up with joy when she recognized him, "Lady Raynare said you would…"  
"Yeah, it's me," Xander whispered back as he brushed her hair back behind her ear before he started unfastening the chain around her neck, "We're getting you out of here. Then we're going out for Burgers and Twinkies, hit the arcade, just have some fun. How does that sound?"

"Sounds like fun… " Asia agreed, "But… I don't… think… I can."

"What are you talking about? Of course you can," Xander tried to laugh it off, like Asia was trying for a joke. But then he saw the light leaving her eyes as she stopped breathing. "Asia?...Asia, wake up?...ASIA?!"

"Oh, did I forget to tell you that the Nun only had seconds to live?" Kalawarner asked in a mocking tone. "A lowly human can't survive having the Sacred Gear extracted by this device. It's why Azazel-sama decommissioned it." She continued on, "It also normally needs a specific ritual to provide the power needed, but draining most of Raynare life force was a suitable substitute.'

"Koneko-chan, take Asia and Raynare outside," Xander's voice was even and calm with not one hint of a joke. His normally warm eye was cold and dead. "I have something to discuss with this bitch."

"I am supposed to protect you, senpai," Koneko argued even as she shattered the remaining chains.

"Just do as I ask, you don't need to see this," One normal tear flowed down from his right eye and a milky white one seeped from under his patch, "I'll be out in a few minutes."

"Oh, it will take longer than a few minutes, Xander-kun," Kalawarner sneered, "I am going to beat you within an inch of your life, and rape you to the point of death before I heal you. I'll do it over and over again, until you are so broken you won't even remember words. Then I'll start on that swordsman and then your whores. Too bad I couldn't keep the nun alive. She would have been so much fun to..."

Cha-THUNK!

"SHUT UP!" Xander roared as he backhanded the fallen angel across the face. As he had unconsciously activated the Twice Critical the Dragon's Hand broke Kalawarner's jaw. "She was worth a million of you!"

[Twice Critical]

Feeling the surge of strength, Xander delivered an uppercut to Kalawarner's diaphragm expelling every bit of air from her lungs. He followed up by stomping on her left knee, shattering the joint by bending it backwards. He did the same to her right elbow as she lay on the floor writhing in pain. "Raynare, Kiba, Koneko, Akeno, and especially Buchou-chan are each worth a million of you." With each word, Xander delivered a brutal kick to Kalawarner's ribs and kidneys. He was laying on the pain in an all out attempt to cripple the Fallen Angel.

Kalawarner was in shock. The Twilight Healing should have made her invincible. She'd imagined she would be able to recover from any damage in seconds. It had been a beautiful dream, that was becoming a nightmare. 'How was I supposed to know it doesn't work automatically?' She mentally bemoaned as she attempted to concentrate enough to heal her jaw, only to be derailed by the blow to her gut. Thinking of healing was made difficult when struggling to breath correctly was an issue. Then came the destruction of a knee and elbow before the nigh endless rain of pain pummeled her into. 'I'm going to be killed by a lowly devil… Wait, he stopped… I just need a few minutes.'

Xander's rage was far from sated, but he wanted to plan exactly how he would make his displeasure known. He paused in his beating to take stock on what shape he had beaten the fallen into. That's when he noticed the green aura surrounding the wounds, healing them. "Asia's Sacred Gear!"

…  
…

"You're much better than I was told, Devil-kun," Freed loved the whole backhanded compliments in a fight. "You were supposed to be some wet behind the ears whelp who still believed there were rules in a battle to the death."

"I had TANSTAAFF beat into me rather effectively," Kiba admitted with a wry grin. Locking blades with Freed he delivered a knee directly to the Exorcist's groin with everything he had.

"ARRRRGH!" Freed screamed out as he was quite effectively racked. The Church hadn't thought to geld him at all as his project was meant to be bred for more. All the strength in his limbs vanished as did his ability to breathe. "You... cheating... bastard!"

"My parents were married," Kiba grinned as he kicked the sword and gun away from Freed before moving behind him to deliver the choke out Xander had taught him.

…

"Ooooooh I am having so much fun!" Akeno licked her lips in ecstasy as she channeled more lightning into gothic lolita fallen. She hadn't come out of the fight completely unscathed. There was a bleeding bite mark on her left breast, but that hadn't slowed her down much, "Would you like another, Mit-tan? Yes? Oh goody."

"Fuck… you… whore." Mittelt groaned through bloody gums. She'd been unprepared for Akeno to actually pull out all her sharpened teeth with a spell. She had become feared for her vicious bite and voracious gluttony so much she had neglected maintaining her skills when spear or spell. Now she was just a twitching mass of flesh on the floor that Akeno kept shocking with ever increasing voltages.

"Now that's rude," Akeno shook her head sadly as she readied a true attack rather then playing with her victim, "If you can't be civil I will just have to end you. *Thunder Lance*"

A magic sigil appeared above Mittelt and a torrent of lightning poured down on the terrified Mittelt. The Fallen tried to scream, but it was far too late. Her blood boiled, her flesh burned away, her brain was turned to ash, and finally her bones reduced to a fine powder.

"Oh my, I might have overdone it, ufufufu,"

…  
…

"Stupid Xander-senpai," Koneko grossed as she made her way out of the church with a much larger girl over each shoulder. "I will eat his Twinkies for this."

Despite being angered over the order Xander had given her, Koneko had followed them. Mostly as he instincts screamed at her to do so. Something about his aura had shifted and he'd felt more animal. 'It's like one moment he was a normal devil and the next like me.'

Seeing Kiba end his fight with the Exorcist, Koneko figured she had carried the girls far enough. She laid Asia and Raynare on the only intact pew before approaching her friend, "Dead?"

"Unconscious," Kiba replied with a shrug, "I figured we'd want to interrogate someone and I doubt the others will leave anyone alive."

"Here, in case he wakes up," Koneko handed Kiba two sets of cuffs.

…  
…

"Is this all the famous Princess of Ruin is capable of?" Dohnaseek mocked as he fired another pair of *Light Spears*. Rias avoided both as by just the slimmest of margins. "I am singularly unimpressed."

"Then you are terminally stupid," Rias smirked as she began to form her first attack. The Power of destruction was coalescing into a small box shape that anyone with military training would recognize, "I've been playing Rope-A-Dope and you fell for it. Now you can be the first victim of *Claymore of Oblivion*"

With that pronunciation the box exploded into thousands of small balls of *Power of Destruction* spraying them forth in an expanding cone of death towards Dohnaseek. The Fallen Angel didn't even get the chance to evade the attack, not that he had the energy to. When the dust cleared there was nothing but a forty foot long gouge in the stone of the basement floor and wall.

"It could use a bit of refinement," Rias sighed as she examined the aftermath.

…

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHH!" Kalawarner's screams of pain and terror echoed in the Church making everyone still conscious flinch in response.

"That doesn't sound good," Kiba said as he looked to the entrance to the basement area, "What do you think Xander-kun is doing?"

"Something dark," Koneko deadpanned.

"What do you mean?" Rias' head whipped around to regard her rook, "Xander-kun isn't evil."

"Agreed, he's not being evil," Koneko replied with a nod. "Just dark. He sent me away so I wouldn't witness it."

Akeno looked to the stairs as her own thoughts whirled in her head. 'Xander has to know that Koneko has witnessed my sadism many times. How bad can it be?'

Xander was covered in so much blood that one would have guessed he swam in it if it hadn't only been coating his front. Unlike normal there was no smile on his lips and no cheerfulness in his eye. While he was no stranger to the deaths of friends, each of them always hit equally hard. "I retrieved her rings."

"You did?" Rias perked up as she saw the twin rings that were Twilight Healing. "Put them on her. If we act quickly enough, then Asia can join us for a victory party."

…  
…

Author's Notes:

Xander's Physical Prowess: In Buffy canon by the time of Season 7, Xander is one of the strongest completely normal humans in the Buffyverse. This is illustrated in the fact that he can knock a fledgling vampire out with a punch. Sure he doesn't match up to supernatural heroes or the drug enhanced Initiative soldiers, but he'd dominate most other humans. Since DxD Xander has a bit of Fanon worked in as well as being a Devil he's a lot more physically powerful. Xander is now equal to a just woken Baby Slayer or Minion level Vamp. Since being a Devil effectively removes limits that can increase. No he will never be an equal to Sairaorg without using the Boosted Gear or something similar, but he's still damned impressive.

Xander's Magical Prowess: Xander is gonna have a ton of power, but little to no control unless the magic is destructive, protective, or lewd. The last is remnants of Issei's potential and a bit of a curse for the love spell incident.

Xander's Toys: Xander has a lot of fun weapons in his Dimensional Space mostly because his friends gave up on Fray Adjacent and started to arm him for bear. The XM214 was a gift from Riley that Andrew and Willow had fun modifying.

Boosted Gear: Unlike Issei who just had the one gauntlet, Xander's Boosted Gear covers both arms. No, this is not a subspecies. It's just how it manifests for Xander.

New Attacks: The Gremory group will develop new attack types based on how Xander trains with them. Rias was so impressed with the Claymore mines she just had to make her own version.


	5. Bonding

**Xander DxD**

**Disclaimer**: I do not own High School DxD, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Angel, Harry Potter, and Rifts

**Major AU**: Do not expect this story to strictly follow canon for High School DxD.

**Key**: "Talking" 'Thought' [Sacred Gear] (Pailamancy or Telepathy) *Technique*

**Bonding**

"So what excuse did you give Shitori-kaichou concerning our absence this afternoon?" Xander was pulling on his t-shirt as he left the men's locker room to join the others. Considering the amount of blood that had soaked through his clothes he needed a lot longer to shower than even the girls. Thankfully as it hadn't dried it wasn't all that hard to wash out. Even the clothes had been salvageable, seltzer water and lemon was all that was needed, "I'm only asking because we have a great opportunity to show Asia the sights."

"Well, I told Sona-chan the truth as she is the other King of this territory," Rias paused for a moment. Since she was not returning to class, she had dressed in a white and red striped halter top and jeans. "The usual for that is investigating a recently reported haunting. That gives us a reasonable excuse for going out afterwards."

"Score, it's only three now, we can have a full evening of fun and still have time for our schoolwork," Xander grinned wide, "Only thing is, I only got enough to treat myself and Asia…"

"Relax, Xander-kun, Sirzechs-sama has already wired us the bounties for the capture of Freed as well as acquisition of all those Light Swords," Akeno assured him as she stood up and smoothed out her clothes she had opted for casual attire of a simple lavender blouse and black skirt. "Though your share might be a bit lower as the clean up team reported that a few of their members were traumatized."

"Wait a minute, we get paid for slayage?" Xander's eyebrows nearly met his hairline, "I didn't see a cent from the Council until we revived it and even then it wasn't much."

"The Watchers were assholes," Koneko supplied looking up from her tablet for a moment. She was wearing a cream sweater over a dark blue blouse and skirt.

"I really should start watching the series so I can understand what everyone is referring to instead of relying on Gasper-kun," Kiba shook his head with a chuckle. He was wearing a light jacket over a t-shirt and khakis, which was a decidedly different look from his pristine Prince Charming appearance, "Oh, and Xander-kun, you owe me big."

"What? Why?" Xander turned to the swordsman just in time to catch the tossed hilt of one the Light Swords the Exorcists were using, "Cool, I always wanted a Lightsaber."

"Ano, why would you have always wanted a... Lightsaber?" Asia had just come out of the women's locker room having taken longer to dress as she had to sort through her habits for one that didn't have a bullet hole. "Have you known of Exorcists for very long?"

"The Lightsaber is the signature weapon of the Jedi Knight and Sith." Xander explained, "It is a graceful elegant weapon that takes skill to properly use, but with one a trained Jedi with a Lightsaber can fight armies. A true Jedi uses his abilities for knowledge and defense, never attack."

"Ah so you wanted to be Jedi?" Asia nodded.

"When I was younger," Xander nodded, "When I discovered the truth about the Midnight Volleyball League, I just thought they'd make great vamp slayage weapons. Now, likely I'll just have fun playing Jedi and Sith with Kiba to work on our speed and situational awareness."

…  
…

"Maou Lucifer, Maou Leviathan," Raynare acknowledged the man and woman who had entered the hospital room. Being used as the battery for the Sacred Gear Extractor had nearly killed her, but the sucrose IV in her arm and some bedrest for a few days would bring her back to health, provided the hospital food didn't kill her, "Forgive me for not bowing, but I am sort of chained to the bed." She lifted her arms to show that she was indeed restrained.

"That is perfectly alright, Raynare-san," Sirzech Lucifer smiled benignly, "While I am here in an official capacity, I am not much for pomp and ceremony."

"Azazel-dono has been contacted regarding your situation," Serafall Leviathan explained with a slight frown on her face contrasting too much with the magical girl costume she had on, "Apparently your cover has been blown, Ray-tan. You cannot return to the Grigori with any guarantee of safety at all. He's asked us to take care of you as a personal favor."

"Good ol' Uncle Zazz," Rayanre chuckled, "I guess you didn't tell him I murdered a human in Devil territory."

"Oh, I made that very clear," Sirzech countered, "And I included in the report you only did so to give Issei a less disturbing death. He was quite disappointed and insisted we punish you under our laws."

"Oh, so this is just to get me healthy before the execution?" Raynare asked with a nod to the IV drip.

"Oh no, Ray-tan, we are applying an alternate punishment," Serafall smiled wide, "One that was designed to keep naughty Devils from killing people and reincarnating them in their peerage. Don't worry, I am writing up your personal history so you can fit in at school."

"School?... Couldn't I choose to be executed?"

…  
…

"I've never eaten food like this," Asia admitted as she looked at the bacon cheese burger with more than a little interest. "Do I use a knife and fork?"

Xander couldn't help but chuckle. "You could, but I prefer this method," Xander flipped his own burger topside down and then took a healthy bite out of it and began chewing. Of course he was eating a triple stacked bacon cheese burger, so his was a bit bigger than the other burgers at the table.

"Oh my… I'll do my best," Asia said as she did her best to emulate Xander. It didn't take more than a second for her face to show the genuine delight she was experiencing. Though if she was honest she wasn't sure if it was the tasty burger, the fact she had real friends, or that Xander was paying attention to her that made her happiest, "This is delicious."

"You think this is great, wait until you have some of Akeno's cookies," Xander stage whispered in a faux conspiratorial fashion, "They are even better than Mrs. Summer's cookies."

"Ara ara, Xander-kun likes my cookies," Akeno smiled, "Then as his Senpai I will have to make a batch just for him."

"As long as he is not eating mine," Koneko gave Xander a bit of the stink eye as she didn't remember offering him any of her treats.

"You might have to protect me Asia-chan," Xander pretended to cower behind the blonde as he was being stared at, "If she punches me, it'll be 'to the moon, Xander', but you're too cute to hit."

Koneko continued to give Xander the glare while everyone else was laughing.

…

…  
"Alright, Akeno-chan which Plushy do you want?" Xander asked as he set the airsoft rifle down again. Thirty shots and thirty bullseyes just like he had to perform for Koneko and Asia's plushies. The stoic girl had wanted a Hello Kitty and Asia saw a yellow Rat she liked. The game attendant was all smiles even as a ringer was working the gun. He knew that for every marksman like Xander there would be fifty who couldn't even earn a prize.

Akeno was bouncing on her heels. She was so giddy at the moment. 'This is almost like a date.' She looked over the plushies and saw a stuffed bear that had been damaged, losing an eye and having to be sewn up, "I want that one. It reminds me of Xander-kun."

"And here's the lovely lady's prize," The attendant said as he handed over the bear, "Are you going again, Xander-san?"

"Yep and this is for the black robot up there," Xander said before shouldering the rifle again. In the minute he was allowed, he again got thirty bullseyes. "Thanks, this has been fun." He said as he handed over the rifle and got the Gundam Seed Plushy. "Rias, this is for you."

"What? How did you…?" Rias took the offered plushy with a shocked look on her face. "You didn't ask."

"Hardly had to," Xander chuckled, "The moment we approached the game your eyes had been all but glued to that one."

"Thank you, Xander-kun."

…  
…

"I still don't understand why the Hyoudous let you sleep in my bed. We have two perfectly good guest rooms." Xander mused aloud as he was washing Rias' hair. He really wasn't expecting a response from his King. She was moaning and writhing in rapture. Of course this was affecting him as her butt kept wriggling against his erection. 'Keep it down, Xander, she doesn't need you being a total perv.' he chastised himself mentally. It wasn't doing much good as he could help but think of Rias' breasts bouncing as she uttered similar moans, "And they certainly shouldn't be letting their sixteen year old son bathe with a girl."

"Ooooohhhh Maou… this is soooo goood," Rias rode out her third orgasm since Xander had started washing her. Though she was thankful he didn't linger on her neck too long. She'd nearly blacked out from that the last time. "It's because… oh Xanderrr… I used a bit of compulsion on them. It didn't take much at all."

"Compulsion magic?" Xander asked as he continued to wash her hair. 'I am going to save judgement until I get more facts.' Keeping his tone light he carefully tiptoed around a sensitive subject, "Did you use any on Issei?"

"No… I hate using them… It feels dirty when I erase memories to keep the secret… I refuse to use them on my family," Rias panted out as she was being worked towards another peak. "I only made them not question why I don't live with my parents."

"Ah, well then I won't need to punish you by withholding bathing privileges," Xander smirked as he felt Rias stiffen under his touch, "I know you don't want to order me to service you, so you won't. You're a very good person, Rias, even if you are a touch devious.

"Thank you," Rias blushed a bit at the compliment, "You can imagine Devils don't hear that very often."

"Well, not many humans hear it often enough," Xander shrugged. Now that he was done washing Rias' hair he started to rinse it out. Given how long she wore it, removing all the lather took some time, "So, what have you learned about me lately?"

"You had nightmares about arriving to class naked. You had a great body and half the girls were ready to jump you right then. That you were afraid of clowns. And when you reach a certain point all your fear becomes aggression instead of fear, but even then you are funny." Rias giggled a bit, "That and you do not like child abusers."

"That's putting it mildly," Xander was glad she couldn't see momentary frown, "So that was Billy in the Coma right? That was a mess."

"Yes it was," Rias muttered, "I'd probably end up being chased by Riser and his peerage on camels."

"So a fear of camels mixed with the dread of marrying a philandering manchild who will just treat you like another conquest," Xander mused for a moment as he subconsciously wrapped his hands around Rias' waist now that her hair was rinsed. He wasn't even thinking about how intimate a gesture it was, "Not a too unreasonable fear on the second one, but what happened that you are afraid of camels."

"My father took me to a petting zoo when I was five," Rias sighed contentedly even as she was summing up the trauma of her youth. Leaning back against Xander she took comfort in being so close to him, "I was delighted because he took me to a human petting zoo, not one of the ones in the underworld. Unfortunately the camel they had there was mean. It spit in my face, kicked father, and then bit me. It was horrible. It took the Underworld Healers three hours to fix my hand."

"Yeeeaaah, that would do it." Xander replied after a moment. "So, ever try to get over your fear?"

"Nope." Rias shook her head, "I avoid them and that's all I need to do about it."

…  
…

"Ano. My name is Asia Argento and I am from Italy." Asia announced to the class after being introduced by the teacher, "My likes are: Helping others, Studying the Bible, Hamburgers, and Xander-kun. My dislikes are: People who harm innocents. My Dream is to have many close friends like Xander-kun. Please take care of me."

'Of course she did it that way,' Xander face palmed. He'd let Asia read his Italian copies of the Naruto Manga and compare them to the Japanese copies. While the translations were not perfect it was helping her understanding of Kanji. The fact that she really liked them helped as well.

"You dog, you're close with the new chick?" Matsuda, for some reason or another, had adopted some of the speech patterns of an American Hood Rat. "Perhaps you could hook a brother up."

"The only thing I would hook you up with is life support after I stomp you flat," Xander muttered through his hand, "Asia was raised in a convent. If either of you try to take advantage of her…"

"We understand, Xander-san," Motohama said quickly, "May we speak with her concerning things other than sex?"

"You two can do that?" Xander's shocked face rose from his hand, "I mean… no I mean exactly that."

"For sure, Dog," Matsuda nodded, "We are expanding our horizons. We can't spend all our time peeping and watching porn."

"You mean you found out that girls are not normally attracted to unrepentant perverts who have no other interests." Xander translated.

"Crude, but accurate,"Motohama replied, "As such we have joined a few clubs that have nothing to do with seeing women naked."

"And that's a sign of the oncoming apocalypse," Xander groaned.

…  
…

"Okay, Koneko, I've gotten to know your fighting style pretty well," Xander was in just his sweat pants as he walked onto the mats. His heavily scarred chest and back on full display to everyone in the ORC, "You are pretty damn good. A match for the Seasoned baby Slayers, but that's because you are stronger and more durable. Skill wise they are better. I'm going to help you improve as much as I can. Personally I use a mix of Krav Maga, Capeoira, and Defense Lab. Since I can take down a baby Slayer half of the time despite being far weaker, I daresay it works."

"Alright," Koneko nodded. She was further along in the Buffy series than everyone else. She knew Xander had been pretty impressive as a human with no training. Now it sounded like he'd had some, even if it was informal.

"I'm also stealing an idea from Anime and we're going to abuse the hell out of it. Rias and Akeno made these for you." Xander held out a set of bracelets and anklets, "Pump a little devil power in them and they'll act like they are a few hundred pounds. Well below what you can lift I know, but it will slow down your movements. So it will force you to become faster in order to maintain the same speed."

"Like the turtle shells in Drag-So-Ball," Koneko mused as she took the pieces of jewelry and put them on. They were subtle, but feminine enough nobody would blink twice. Without further comment she put them on and supplied the tiny bit of Devil Power they required. Instantly each of her limbs was weighed down with four hundred pounds. She knew exactly how much because it was what she normally did for light curls. Just enough for her to feel some strain and slow her movements. "Could be heavier."

"We're going to slowly increase the weights over time to avoid causing damage to your bones," Xander replied, "You will have to add more milk, dairy, and other calcium rich foods to your diet so your muscles don't crush your skeleton."

"No probs," Koneko's lips curled into a slight smile, "I love cream."

"Okay, and now we are getting to possible innuendo territory." Xander chuckled nervously, "I am going to start with the basics of Krav Maga, just mimic my movements. If my guess is right, you'll absorb these as fast as any Slayer."

…  
…

"Alright, now that Asia has healed me up, I am ready for my second ass kicking of the day," Xander chuckled as he hefted the practice blade that Kiba had provided with Sword Birth. As he'd requested it was a traditional Bastard Sword or the Half and a Half Sword. Unlike most people he understood that the European design was much better at dealing with armored targets than the Katana. He still vastly preferred his Axe, but his last attempt to pull it from the dimensional pocket had left third degree burns all the way to his elbow. "Alright, since this is a spar to hone skills with the sword, it's considered a game and thus no cheating."

"I agree," Kiba said as he raised his own sword, like Xander he'd chosen the Bastard Sword design for the flexibility of using it single handedly or with both hands. With a confident smile, Kiba moved his left leg forward and his blade down and to the right so he was in a perfect Tutta Porta de Ferro, or True Iron Gate guard. "As much as I appreciate the lessons in fighting dirty there are times that one must abandon those tactics. Honor Duels for instance."

Xander nodded as he took his stance: the zornhut, otherwise known as the Guard of Wrath. To the uninitiated. He looked for all the world like batter at the plate awaiting the first pitch, "Let's begin." With that Xander moved with a powerful chop aimed at taking Kiba's leg out of commision. There was no worry of true injury as the blade caused pain and could disable limbs, but would not cause injury.

Kiba responded with remarkable speed despite not using his prowess as a knight. His blade intercepted Xander and batted the blow to the side. What he had not been expecting was the sheer power behind the strike. "It's like hitting a stone pillar."

"Yeah, I've got zero chance of being faster than you and less chance of being better with the blade," Xander admitted as he fell back and took the True Iron Gate guard himself after having his strike battered away, "My best bet to put all I have into every attack and hope your arms go numb. It's what most demons try to do to Slayers."

"I am truly going to enjoy dueling you on a regular basis." Kiba smirked as he feinted with a slice to the waist, only to spin the move into a thrust aimed at Xander's shoulder. The smile grew a bit wider as he managed a graze across the top.

"I know I should be flattered," Xander responded as he made as he redirected his parry into another slice, "but that's just you admitting you want to kick my ass a lot for having some skills."

…  
…

"And what will you be teaching me today, Xander-kun?" Akeno was still using her normal facade of the perfect japanese beauty that charmed every male, and quite a few of the females, of Kuoh Academy. There was a reason she was the number two idol of the school after all. Even dressed as she was in the basic gym clothes of the Academy she radiated grace and sensuality, "Unlike Asia I already know Tai Ch and my skill set allow me to avoid melee rather well."

"I'd say/ If I wasn't sure you didn't know what it was, I would think you used Lightning Armor," Xander chuckled softly. In every spar so far, Akeno had used Lightning with abandon. "Buchou-chan told me you would be the perfect candidate to teach me the basics of magic."

"Did she now?" Akeno quirked an eyebrow and glanced over to her King. Rias was currently teaching Asia the very basics of using Devil Power. The truth was Rias was every bit as skilled in magic as Akeno herself was. Their affinities were slightly different but both of them had expanded their knowledge beyond what came easily. In her best breathy teasing voice, she decided to play with her kohai a little, "Well then I guess you will just have to call me Sensei."

"Only if you promise not to behead me in order to breed," Xaner quipped back. He'd spent too much time around Anya and Faith to be that easily flustered by flirtatious teasing. Not that a small part of him wasn't jumping in glee that someone like Akeno even took the time to tease him.

"I wouldn't do that, Xander-kun," Akeno continued on with her teasing, "It would be wasteful to kill such a manly specimen."

Xander just started laughing, actually doubling over from it. Tears streamed from his right eye after a minute as he just continued.

"What is so funny?" Akeno huffed in no small amount of irritation as the young man she had been flirting with continued to laugh as if he was watching a Robin Williams routine. As it continued she clenched her fist and arcs of electricity began dancing over her hands.

"I'm sorry. It's just… you could do sooo much better," Xander's laughter tapered off, "I seriously have no clue why you and Buchou-chan flirt with me. I'm just… well me and you could have any guy you wanted. Hell, you probably could have any girl you wanted. I mean I love it, don't get me wrong. I'll miss it when you find the right guy."

And in that moment all of Akeno's irritation vanished. 'He's still suffering a bit of an inferiority complex. Thankfully his aggression only comes out when he's facing enemies.' Taking a deep breath she put her facade back up, "Well, how about we start with the lesson. I know you understand some of the basics of Wiccan spell casting, but the magic I used is much faster and less reliant on reagents and foci."

"I thought as much," Xander nodded, "I saw the various sigils and mandalas when you and Boucho-chan used magic."

"Most beings who use magic use such sigils and mandalas. The different Factions and Pantheons all have their own versions of these. Rias was schooled in Devil magic while I was taught Shinto Magic. We have taught each other our respective forms, as well. Kiba and Koneko are capable of Devil magic, but not to as great a degree as we are. I supposed she asked me to tutor you as the Shinto methods of discovering your power and affinities is closer to the spellcasting you are familiar with."

"So lots of meditation, incense, and strange symbols painted on my body?" Xander chuckled as he remembered a few of the early spells he'd been a part of.

"Yes, yes, especially the last one, ufufufufu," Akeno's slight giggle should have been a warning, but Xander wasn't quite aware of how deep he'd just stepped into it.

…  
…

Xander stopped dead in his tracks at the stack of boxes in front of the Hyoudou home. For the briefest of moments he was worried that his new parents had taken a page out of the Harris books. However the Italian labels on the boxes set his mind at ease. Letting out a breath he wasn't aware he was holding he picked up the first of the boxes and started towards the door. 'Rias probably convinced the folks to let Asia move in. Let's hope she sleeps in her own bed.'

"Oh there you are, Xander," Miki Hyoudou called out to the young man she believed was her son, "Rias-chan was just discussing poor Asia-chan's plight."

"Yeah, she hasn't got any family she can rely on," Xander quickly picked up on the angle Rias was using. The Hyoudous were unlike most Japanese families and held not one ounce of prejudice against gaijin. They were also very generous and hospitable people. "I figured you'd trust Buchou-chan's evaluation more than mine."

Both Rias and Asia both flashed confused looks hearing Xander's comment.

"Yes, well, if you had asked I would be worried you were back on the Harem King nonsense," Gorou nodded sagely before turning to Asia "You will forgive me, but my son is a pervert. He only barely keeps from being a shameful one. Honestly you might not want to live here, Asia."

"Yeah, I am just going to carry this up to the spare bedroom," Xander stated simply before he started towards the stairway.

"Ano, Xander-san has never been anything but kind to me," Asia responded as kindly as she did in every other situation. It was simply not in her to be mean even when someone was badmouthing her first friend, "He has helped me a great deal and I trust him."

"I am surprised you can speak ill of your son, Hyoudou-san," Rias' voice was frosty as she addressed the man very formally, "Xander is well liked by the entire ORC and much of the student body. Just yesterday he earned the gratitude of the Kendo Club for patching a hole in the Locker Room wall."

"I didn't mean to imply my son is some sort of hoodlum," Gorou waved his hands in front of him as if warding off an attack. "It's just… well he takes after his old man and I was what the kids today call a player. I wanted to warn you, is all."

"A player?" Asia tilted her head in confusion, "Do you mean like that Pokemon game that Koneko plays sometimes?"  
Gorou was dumbfounded for a moment. He'd gotten that Asia was sheltered and innocent, but this level of naivete floored him. His brain sputtered for a few moments as he tried to formulate a response. He looked over to his wife and found she was in a similar state.

"There was another reason I thought it would be good for Asia-chan to stay here," Rias decided to forge ahead with the conversation and dropped the frosty attitude the perceived slight on Xander had brought out in her. "Asia was raised in a convent, as such she hasn't learned all the skills a good wife should have."

"Bride Training?" both Miki and Gorou's face lit up as they realized what Rias was hinting at. "We might get grandchildren after all."

"I would be happy to learn from you, Hyoudou-san," Asia stood before bowing deeply to Miki.

"You must call me Kaa-san like Rias-chan does," Miki waited for Asia to straighten back up before she hugged the young blonde, "Welcome to the family."

…  
…

"Ano, Xander-san, I wanted to thank you for bringing in my clothing," Asia smiled warmly at Xander as she spoke. "I wasn't aware I had quite so much of it after shopping with Rias and Akeno. They kept sending the bags back to the Old School House through portals."

Xander couldn't help but look at Asia funny for a moment. 'I have more clothing than she does.' Shaking off the slight bit of disbelief he just smiled, "It was my pleasure, Asia-chan, and trust me you had far less clothing than Buffy did when I helped her move." he patted the bed beside him, thankful that Rias was busy with a summons. He really liked the redhead, but there were times she was a little jealous of anyone spending time with him. "Why don't we talk a bit? I want to know how you are settling in being a Devil."

"I... I thought I would feel guilty… but I don't," Asia was a little hesitant to speak her feelings in such a way. She'd already learned that praying to God or thanking him was a rather painful experience. Reading the Bible was impossible and she couldn't wear her cross anymore, "I have friends now. Koneko, Kiba, Akeno, and Raynare. I have a big sister in Rias. I met your parents who treat me like a daughter. Most importantly I met you, Xander-san. I don't think Heaven could be any better than what I have right now."

"You flatter me, ma'am," Xander adopted a breathy voice and pretended to swoon sending Asia into giggles, "In all seriousness, I just want to make sure you're happy, Asia-chan. I wasn't able to save…" Xander had to stop as Asia had put her finger to his lips to shush him.

"You did the best you could," Asia said with conviction, "If not for you, Rias-nee would not have been able to bring me back and we wouldn't be as close as we are. So don't blame yourself."

"Alright, I'll just blame those Fallen," Xander nodded, "So far the only good one is Ray-chan."

…  
…

"Since you have mastered the ability to enter a state of calm so quickly we can begin drawing out your devil power," Akeno was thoroughly impressed with Xander's progress. While Asia was a week ahead of him, Xander was learning the basics extraordinarily quickly. "Now, you should be able to feel a source of energy inside of you. When you touch upon it, you won't feel any strong emotions, just power. This is why the initial lessons in calming yourself are needed, so you can recognize that."

"Alright, let's see," Xander had his eye closed as he searched internally. There were a number of wells of power that he could feel. The Primal was easily recognizable by it's overwhelming urges to hunt, protect, and breed in equal amounts. Sineya was similar, though more hunting and protecting than breeding. There was an unknown core that radiated anger and the need to dominate, Xander wasn't sure where it came from but knew he was not ready to touch upon it. After some searching he found the only well of power that could be considered close to how Akeno described. Unlike the other it was radiating any strong emotion, just a hint of lust. 'Great, I think my inner pervert is affecting my magic.' "I think I have it, Akeno-sensei."

"Ufufufu, and so quickly," Akeno giggled behind her hand, her tone turned seductive in the blink of an eye, "I think you might earn a special reward at this rate, Xander-kun."

'Keep your cool, Xander. Her wonderful breasts might be on display in that top, but you have to ignore them for now,' Xander tried to remind himself he was supposed to be learning magic, not ogling the wondrous fun bags of his instructor.

"I wouldn't mind another batch of chocolate chip cookies."

"Chocolate chip cookies?" Akeno visibly deflated as he teasing was expertly deflected. "Alright, but only if you can draw out your power by the end of the lesson today."

"Alright, now how do you do that?" Xander nodded in agreement. 'Glad I derailed that teasing train. It was hard enough getting alone time to relieve myself with Rias around, but with Asia there too, it was becoming impossible. These girls are driving me to a bad case of blue balls.'

"Hold your hands cupped in front of you, like so." Akeno demonstrated just what she meant, though she intentionally used her arms to press her massive mammaries together enhancing her already impressive cleavage. "Then draw the power out of yourself." As she spoke wisps of blue energy seeped out of her palms and began to gather in her cupped hands, "Then form that energy into a ball." The wisps of blue compacted together until they formed a bright glowing ball the size of a volleyball.

'She's powerful. Almost Willow levels.' Xander stared wide-eyed at the orb of blue energy. He'd seen many Witches gather their power and Akeno blew most of them away. Shaking off the sense of ennui that caused in him, he concentrated on the well of power in himself and willed it to surface. Between his hands wisps of pink energy began to form. As with Akeno's demonstration they quickly started forming a ball. Unfortunately the strands of power were not merging together perfectly. The coalescing mass of energy had visible streaks of red and white in the mass of pink. "Is it supposed to be pulsing like that?"

"No… it should be stable." Akeno remarked as she looked at the softball sized orb. True to Xander's word it seemed to be pulsing with every heartbeat. "It might be you're a bit too…"

The sphere of pink energy chose that moment to explode. Briefly forming a mandala that Akeno had never seen before the energy rushed towards her striking her in the chest. The effects were immediate: every last article of clothing that Akeno was wearing ended up shredded into confetti. She was now standing in front of Xander completely naked.

"Did I just…?" Xander blinked rapidly. He only had one eye, but it didn't mean his vision impaired in any other way. He couldn't avoid memorizing Akeno's curves at this point. 'Holy… she's as sexy as Rias. This is so not fair.'

"Ara ara. If you wanted to see me nude, then all you had to do was ask, Xander-kun~" Akeno sing-songed as she raised her arms above her head and did a slow twirl to let Xander see absolutely everything.

"Oh Maou…" Xander breathed out. In his younger years he would have been a drooling blushing mess, totally incapable of speaking anything but random syllables, "... I am going need a cold shower and an ice pack."


	6. Contracts and Portents

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**Xander DxD**

Disclaimer: I do not own High School DxD, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Angel, Harry Potter, Naruto, King Ralph, and Rifts

Major AU: Do not expect this story to strictly follow canon for High School DxD.

Key: "Talking" 'Thought' [Sacred Gear] (Pailamancy or Telepathy) *Technique*

Author Note: This is the beginning of an Arc I am adding to the DxD Storyline. I would also like to warn you that Riser Arc is not waiting a whole year. Worse, Riser is a tad more cunning and competent than in canon, but won't be the complete bastard that fanon makes him out to be. Now before anyone bitches about what I am doing to a character in this chapter, I am doing it for another plot point down the line. The most astute of you might guess it, but if you do, PM me, do not leave it in review.

**Contracts and Portents**

"Hello there, Devil-kun~"

Xander froze at the sound of the least feminine voice he'd heard since he'd met Princess Anna of Norway. 'Please don't be her. Please don't be her.' While he hadn't had a steady relationship since Anya, that didn't mean he didn't acquire stalkers. Princess Anna was the worst and being Called let her get away with it. The fact the wall was painted her favorite shade of salmon and decorated with cutesy knickknacks was not helping his state of mind. Turning to face the source of the voice he took in the sight and let out a sigh of relief, "Oh, thank maou."

Mil-tan blinked at the devil's reaction. She wasn't so dense as to not know how she appeared. Being born a genetic hermaphrodite with a ninety five percent male body-type and mostly female brain had her looking like a massive bodybuilder transvestite. Standing six foot ten inches and weighing nearly three hundred fifty pounds of muscles with precious little body fat she would win a Mister Universe contest and did win in a few Strong Man competitions. Her face was also extremely masculine except her eyes and eyelashes. That was one place she lucked out. She had eyelashes that most women would commit heinous crimes against humanity for. She knew how disturbing she looked striking a pose in her Milky-tan Spiral alternate edition costume. So seeing the handsome devil visibly relax on seeing her was a little shocking.

"You summoned a Gremory Devil?" Xander asked as he bowed respectfully, "My name is Xander, what can I do for you?"

"Oh.. I am Mil-tan, Xander-san," Mil-tan bowed in greeting "I would like to make me a magical girl right nyo~!"

"When you say Magical Girl…" Xander began to ask.

"Oh, let me show you. I just got a new Blu Ray HD copy of Magical Milky Spiral 7 Alternate edition. We can watch it together. My boyfriend won't mind," Mil-tan grabbed Xander's arm and dragged him bodily to the living room.

…  
…

"So, how did it go, Xander-kun?" Kiba's voice and smile looked utterly innocent, but there was no denying the twinkle in his eye. He knew exactly who Xander had been summoned by. He remembered an excitable woman shrieking in joy when she found the flier. Then came the proclamations of what she would wish for. When he saw the summoning he just knew had to dodge that bullet and Xander made a wonderful scapegoat.

Xander eyed the swordsman for a moment. 'The bastard did this deliberately.' Suppressing his urge to rant he just smiled and it even reached his eyes, but it wasn't a happy smile. It was one that promised that Kiba would suffer nightmares from whatever Xander was plotting, "I don't know how you knew or arranged it, but there will be payback. It could come tomorrow, or it could come a year from now, but it will come."

"What did Kiba do?" Koneko asked after she finished the dango she was currently enjoying. "There weren't clowns, were there?"

"No, just almost triggered a slight bit of PTSD and then I was subjected to watching Milky Spiral 7 Special edition with a woman who could have played Greggor Clegane if she had a beard." Xander replied calmly as she continued to stare a hole through Kiba's head. When the other man had the grace to look guilty, Xander relented, "Relax, I'm not mad, I'll just get even later. It was a good prank." Chuckling now, Xander turned to Rias who was going over the books on her laptop, "Sighed three individual pacts. Mil-tan agrees to pay 540,000 yen for tonight's services, she pledges to buy the reagents she needs from Gremory owned distributors, and she agrees that if we have need of her skills we can summon her twice."

"Over half a million yen for six hours work?" Akeno blinked, "What did you do besides watch an Anime?"

Everyone's attention perked up at that. Several possibilities were flying through everyone's mind. Kiba and Akeno were shockingly alike in their thoughts that perhaps the Anime was to cover the sounds of a lewd encounter. Rias was having flashbacks to having her hair washed. Koneko was imagining Xander acting out the scene of being a damsel in distress. Asia herself could only think of how Xander would brush her hair as they read Naruto together. Strangely, Asia was closest as she was helping Mil-tan paint her nails as they discussed her wish.

"Mil-tan wants to be a magical girl. Not just simply have magic, but be able to transform into a cute super powered girl," Xander shrugged, "I don't blame her. If I was a Herm with Sophie Dee's body but still had my package and a male mindset, I'd want to be able to transform into a guy."

"Permanent gender transformation spells are incredibly hard. The only caster I know of who can perform the spell at all is Maou Leviathan and she can't control what the outcome will look like," Rias shook herself out of her day dream, "Just what did you do?"

"I had about a month's worth of Polyjuice potion and the recipe for making more," Xander shrugged, "Willow cooked it up after watching Chamber of Secrets. It's normally for infiltrations. The best part is it can be made by anyone, even those who don't have a lot of magic. All she needs is some hair from a girl she likes the looks of and bam, she's good to go for an hour per mouthful."

Akeno smiled warmly as she placed a plate of chocolate chip cookies in front of Xander, "That is genius. She paid you for potions and the recipe and she has to continue buying ingredients. With your fifty percent of the initial fee and three percent for her future purchases of the reagents Mil-tan will be filling your accounts as long as she wants to be a Magical Girl. Very cunning, Xander-kun."

"Congratulations on your first three pacts, you've earned a special reward," Rias grinned widely at her pawn.

…  
…

"You want me to what?" Rias Gremory was more than a bit shocked. She was also very disappointed. Xander had just finished washing her hair, leaving her with that wonderful afterglow. In what was the closest thing to pillow talk she'd experienced, she'd asked what he wanted for his special reward. "You want to be left alone in the tub for thirty minutes? How is that a reward? Do you not like bathing with me?"

"There is a Pfiefer-Zeliska revolver in the bottom of my foot locker. If I ever tell you I don't like bathing with you I want you take that and shoot me in head, heart, and groin." Xander replied completely seriously. "Whoever that Xander is, he does not deserve to live. It's just… with you and Akeno teasing me all the time I need a bit of relief. I could arrange it when Asia didn't live with us, but now…"

Rias twisted her body around enough she could look Xander in the eye, "Then why not let me help you, my precious Pawn? That could be your reward."

Xander's left nostril actually leaked a tiny bit of blood as the thought of Rias helping ease his tension played across his mind. Taking a deep breath to settle his imagination. "If it were to ever happen between us, I don't want any part of it to be because I earned a reward. You deserve a lot better than that."

Rais could only stare in wonder. She knew without a doubt that if she made that offer to nearly any other male they would have been all over it. Neither Kiba or Gasper would, but she was sure both of them didn't see her in a sexual light. Kiba was far too attracted to Tsubaki to notice other girls that way, while Gasper thought of her as a literal sister not a figurative one. Xander on the other hand obviously saw her as sexuallly desirable and not just for her body.

"Besides, if you helped, it would just work me up more unless we spent hours doing all kinds of things an engaged woman shouldn't do." Xander's lopsided grin came out in full force, "except with her fiance and we both know yours only deserves a good racking."

"Ufufufu," Rias could not help the giggle that escaped her lips at the thought of putting knee to Riser's balls. There were a few traits she did share with her Queen after all, "Alright, fine, turn down my help now, but I won't be engaged for very much longer if I can help it. Then we'll revisit this topic."

"Alright, but I really think you should save doing things like that for the one you love," Xander said as Risas was repositioning herself to just leaning against him. Wrapping his arms around her waist Xander rested his head atop Rias'. "So have you watched any more of the show?"

"Yes, I just finished the first season with the Master escaping and getting killed again," Rias sighed as she got comfortable. 'This is quickly becoming the best part of my day.' Placing her hands atop his she let herself pretend her engagement was to Xander, "You were incredibly brave. How did Buffy react when she found out you were the one who wanted to save her?"

"I don't think she ever did figure it out," Xander mused for a moment, he shrugged a bit as he began tracing patterns around Rias' navel, "I doubt it would have made any difference in anything. At the time she only had eyes for Angel. I was just the guy lucky enough to be one of her best friends."

"No… she was the lucky one."

…  
…

"You are doing great, Xander-kun," Asia Argento had been watching her first friend as he was literally walking up the trunk of the massive oak tree behind the Old School Building.

"Asia-chan?... Oh shiiiiiit!" Xander had turned his head to look at Asia when she called out to him Unfortunately that was enough of a distraction that he lost concentration on what he'd been doing. Pink energy surged from the soul of his feet and he was literally launched away from the tree. The ten meter fall to the soft grass below wouldn't have been too bad, but Xander had the misfortune to land on a concrete picnic table with several audible cracks.

"XANDER-KUN!" Asia raced to Xander's side and immediately began using Twilight healing. The green glow first encompassed his head which was fortunate as the table top had been rather unforgiving when it fractured his skull.

"Note to self, the next time I try tree climbing, make sure I wear a helmet and make sure if I shoot off the tree it's away from the picnic tables," Xander muttered as he quickly regained some of his ability to think. His body was still just one massive ball of pain, especially his arms and legs.

"Oh thank goodness, I was afraid you'd…" Asia didn't finish her thought. She just burst into tears and hugged Xander thankful she was fast enough to heal his brain.

"Yeah, that was pretty stupid of me," Xander groaned as Asia's hug caused a flare of pain in his limbs. Lifting his right arm he noticed his lower arm was bent at a sixty degree angle in a place with no joint. "Asia, you're going to have to set my arm before you heal it."

"Oh yes," Asia released Xander and began examining his right arm. With her duties in the Church they had taught her how to set bones properly. She'd learned that preparing someone for the sudden pain often causes more problems than not. "On the count of three… One." She then jerked on Xander's arm so that the broken bones would align as they were supposed before applying her healing powers. "Only four more breaks to go, Xander-kun."

"Oh joy," Xander ground out between clenched teeth.

…  
…

"Were you really Tree Walking?" Asia had contained her curiosity long enough. She had set at least one bone in each of Xander's limbs as well as his left foot. She was ever so grateful that Twilight Healing worked so quickly and completely, "Why would you start with something so dangerous?"

"Yes, I was," Xander smirked as he considered how successful he'd been in only an hour, "Well, I had considered Water Walking, but the pool is in use at the moment."

"You could have used one of the fountains," Asia wasn't the least bit angry despite her wording. She was just making conversation.

"Yeah, didn't think of that. Just figured less people would freak out about a guy walking up a tree than one walking on water," Xander chuckled. He knew Asia would get the reference, "I'll be a little more careful while training."

"Yeah, i guess seeing someone walk on water would cause a fright," Asia smiled as she considered what people would think, "What else are you thinking of copying from Naruto? Surely Tree Climbing and Water Walking won't be it."

"Replacement, Transformation, and Clone," Xander recited his list of goals. "Just the Ninja basics. I plan on teaching you Replacement at the very least so you can avoid attacks. I mean I will always try to be there to protect you, but it's better to have a skill and not need it than then need it and not have it."

"Oh, I completely agree. That's why I am in the Thai Chi class like you suggested," Asia nodded as she sat on the bench next to Xander. "I don't think I would ever choose to fight, but I might be forced to. I'd rather be prepared," Her stomach actually roiled at the thought of using her new skills to hurt someone. She'd never willingly hurt anything in her life and had cried the one time she had swallowed a bug. However she was determined not to be a burden to the others in any way. "The Sensei is suggesting I learn Aikido as well."

Xander closed his eye and let out a long sigh, "You realize that I don't expect you to be a fighter, right?"

"Yes, I know that, Xander-kun," Asia was poking her fingers together, "I just see how hard all of you are working and I want to help. I don't want any of you to have to bodyguard me from absolutely everything."  
"Yeah, I had the same feelings when I was just a Scooby," Xander chuckled softly at the revelation, "Though you are a lot more useful than I was most of the time. Do you know what I would have given for the ability to heal people? And your magic is coming along nicely. Don't think I didn't notice you managed to keep a barrier against some of Rias' Power of Destruction…"

"Rias-nee wasn't going all out…" Asia countered.

"Well, no. She could flatten the whole town if she put her all into it," Xander flashed his lopsided grin as he patted her head affectionately, "But from what Akeno said many Mid-Level devils couldn't shield themselves effectively against the attacks you were blocking. Those are devils with tons of power and you are better than they are, Asia-chan."

Asia would have replied, but she was just enjoying the moment even if she was blushing so hard she felt feverish.

…  
…

"What are we going to work on today, Xander-senpai?" Koneko's inflection might have been flat, but to those who truly knew her it was clear she was truly excited for one-on-one training with Xander. In just the few weeks that he'd been there she had improved by leaps and bounds in her fighting skill. Her body was also stronger and much faster due to the resistance training. She had also sharpened her senses and learned ways of shielding them from overload.

"Well, nothing, you've exceeded my every expectation by an enormous degree," Xander was smiling warmly at the younger woman, "You could now fight Buffy or Faith even if they had the Scythe. Even using the Twice Critical I don't think I could take you down in anything resembling a fair fight. This calls for a celebration. I'm taking you out. Go get showered and dressed."

"This isn't a date, is it?" Koneko was a bit confused. Xander wasn't like the other boys that wanted to take her out. His gaze didn't make her feel unclean, but he had said several times he needed to get a shovel ready, so he did find her attractive.

"Nope, just me taking my Kohai out for a treat because she's been working so hard," Xander shook his head in a light bit of amusement, "Pretty sure half of Kuoh academy would string me up for stealing your first date like that. Now come on, San Francisco Creamery opened a branch here in Kuoh and they are doing the Kitchen Sink challenge. Three bananas, 8 scoops of icecream, 8 toppings, whip cream, six cherries… and if you finish it in under 30 minutes it's free."

Koneko could only look at Xander in wonder for a moment as drool collected at the corner of her mouth. "I'll hurry."

…  
…

"Where do you put all that?" Xander asked as he witnessed a feat he'd only ever seen a Slayer pull off. Koneko hadn't eaten just one Kitchen Sink, she had ordered a second one and was devouring that one at a more sedate pace. He didn't have much room to talk given that he'd ordered some calamari rings after his Kitchen Sink.

"I know where it doesn't go." Koneko looked pointedly down at her own lack of bust. It wasn't that she was flat-chested, she had respectable full AA cups and on her petite frame they gave her some curves. However compared to the rest of the ORC she was lacking. "Stupid oppai won't grow."

"Has it been six months already? I swear I have this same talk twice a year." Xander shook his head in mild dismay, "Look, Koneko-chan, your oppai will grow when they grow. And they'll be whatever size they'll be. And they'll be perfect on you. The guy lucky enough to be your boyfriend will be overjoyed you let him play with them."

"Yeah, right." Koneko sulked just a bit, which was hard as Xander had told her exactly what she needed to hear, even if it wasn't exactly what she wanted.

"Do you know how many boys I've had to have talks with to let them know they can't ask you out unless they are willing to really date you?" Xander had been dealing with powerful women for ten years. At the core they were all just a little insecure about how attractive they were to others. Buffy was one the worst, especially after Dawn had matured fully, "Just in the last week it's been a dozen. Yes, Rias and Akeno are more popular, but trust me if you wanted any guy in Kuoh you could have them. So just relax and don't stress over what you think are shortcomings. You're twice as hot as Buffy was."

Koneko looked up from her sundae wide-eyed. It didn't take very long for a blush to spread across her cheeks. "Thank you, Xander-senpai."

…  
…

"Rin Takigawa, Second year University Student at Todai University, majoring in Pre-Medical with a minor in Pharmaceuticals. You are a noted Cosplayer of some skill your latest triumph taking best pairs costume as Faith Lehane of the Buffy the Vampire Slayer franchise," The man addressed Rin as she was stepping out of her bathroom. He was quite tall and six feet two inches with brown hair and eyes. He was wearing simple black pants and a shirt with a clerical collar. His voice was calming with a distinct American accent. "There is no reason to be alarmed. I am just here to deliver a message to my dear friend Xander. You wouldn't mind helping me with that, would you?"

"Uhm, how did you get in here?" Rin took a half step back to her bathroom. She would have screamed, but she rented this apartment specifically because it was sound proofed.

"Never you worry about that, Rin," The man drawled out, "You need to be more worried about how well you can remember what I tell you. I'll be mighty upset if I have to deliver this message more than once."

…  
…

"Are you Alexander Lavelle Hyoudou?" Assistant Inspector Hiro Watanabe couldn't put his finger on it, but he felt on edge around the Gaijin in front of him. It was as if he could sense that the teen could easily over power not just him but the two Patrol Constables with him. However he had a job to do and he would not let his unease stop him.

Xander turned to face the voice that had addressed him. He was just about to open the gate to his yard, "Yeah, that's me. Though I prefer to go by Xander."

"Ah, very well, Xander-san." Hiro replied with a nod, "I am Assistant Inspector Watanabe. This is Constable Sato and Constable Suzuki." Hiro knew how badly that sounded as they were some of the most common names in Japan. It was nearly as bad as an American introducing themselves as Anderson, Smith, and Brown. "We have some questions we would like to ask you."

Xander's first instinct was to clam up and call for an attorney. However he knew in Japan that this would result in much badness. "Alright?"

"On April 6th you attended a MythicCon 19 with one Rin Takigawa, is this correct?" Hiro asked as he consulted his tablet.

"Yes, Takigawa-san wanted to hire a friend of mine to cosplay as Buffy the Vampire Slayer to compete in the Pairs Costume contest, but she was unable to due to another commitment," Xander replied as he recalled the story he'd been given, "I offered to take her place as I resemble Xander Harris from the same show. Rin accepted the offer and we had quite a bit of fun."

"I see," Hiro responded noncommittally, "Where were you at two pm today?"

"The San Francisco Creamery with Koneko Toujou," Xander replied evenly, "We both undertook the Kitchen Sink challenge, succeeding handily I might add."

"Do you have any proof?"

"One second, I have my receipt as well as some pictures on my phone," Xander fished in his pocket for a moment and then retrieved the slip of paper handing it to the Inspector. "Can I ask what this is about?"

"Ah, I see your alibi is rock solid," Hiro frowned as he regarded the receipt. "Takagawa-san was brutally attacked at two pm this afternoon. She had to be rushed to the Trauma Center. After she was stabilized she kept uttering your name and claiming she had a message for you."

"Ah, so you were wondering if I was the one that attacked her," Xander nodded, "No, and I don't know who could have either. Takigawa-san contracted me through the fund-raiser the Kuoh Academy Occult Research Club does. Basically people can hire one of us for a few hours, we mostly do chore work or special requests like this cosplay."

Hiro froze for a moment as he heard the name of the club, but it was only for a moment, "Well, as you have an alibi, we will be on our way. Goodbye, Xander-san."

…  
…

"I have to go to the Hospital for a bit," Xander announced during breakfast. His parents were already gone given it was sunday and they liked golfing. Only Rias and Asia were there enjoying the french toast breakfast he'd made.

"Oh no. Are you still hurting from the tree walking accident?" Asia immediately asked out of genuine concern. "Didn't I set the bones correctly?"

"Tree Walking accident?" Rias had to force herself to swallow her bite french toast in a hurry. Something she was loath to do for two reasons. First was that it was so delicious. Second Xander had made it. However hearing that her precious servant had been injured and required bones to be set was alarming. "Setting bones?"

"Don't worry, Asia, you set them correctly. No aches or pains," Xander reassured the former nun with a pat on the head. Turning his attention to Rias' questions he decided not to downplay it too much, "Well, I was practicing using my magic to cling to surfaces so I could walk up them. My concentration broke and I was rocketed off the tree and fell on that concrete picnic table. Luckily Asia was right there."

"Why would you practice something so dangerous when you are alone?" Rias sprang up from her seat and rushed to Xander's side. In under a second she had her arms wrapped around him and his face stuffed into her cleavage. "Promise me you won't practice anything so dangerous without me right there. I don't know what I would do if you got seriously hurt."

"Mmmph mmmph mmm-mmph!" Xander's muffled voice carried through the spectacular oppai his face was buried in. 'Oh what a way to go.'

…  
…

'I hate hospitals,' Xander griped inside his head as he walked the halls. 'At least the Japanese build them roughly the same as American ones. And the staff seem just as ready to ignore the ordinary looking.' He'd stopped briefly in the gift shop to grab balloons, a stuffed bear, and some caramels for Rin. One thing he did have to commend the Hospital for was a database that reminded people not to buy things a patient was allergic to. 'Chocolate would have gone over like Twilight on Slayer Movie Night.' Xander actually shuddered visibly when he remembered the night Andrew wanted to show everyone a great vampire movie. 'Just badness all the way around.' Despite his inner musings, and taking a moment to remember how Buffy, Willow, Angel and Spike teamed up to give Andrew the Wedgie of Doom, Xander managed to remember which room he was looking for.

"Knock Knock, Gremory Devil," Xander said as she entered the room. Of course he'd checked to to see if she was alone before he announced himself, "Heard you had a recent visitor and they weren't too nice." Xander winced as he made that understatement. Rin's hair look like it had been shorn brutally with a knife, all of her exposed skin was covered in bruises, her left eyed had a cold compress on it, and her right leg was immobilized in a cast. "These are for you."

Rin Takigawa had always thought she was fearless. She's been shown that was not true at all. She stared at Xander unblinkingly because every time she closed her eyes she could see and hear 'him' repeating the same maeesage over and over. All night she was kept from sleep by the endless nightmares as she could feel 'him' beating her over and over as he made her memorize the message in Latin. Not that she knew it was Latin. "He gave me a message." Rin hated how detached her voice sounded. She wanted to cry, to scream, but she was just too tired, "for you."

"Yeah, the Police told me that much." Xander said as he placed the bear and caramels on her table. The balloons he just let float to the ceiling, "Want to tell me who it was, so I can make them beg for death?"

"Come to me, and I will reveal to you the judgement of the Harlot, she who lays with the Defender of Man while promised to another," Rin swallowed down the bile that was rising in her throat, "The Crimson Haired Whore whose beauty has blinded the One of Who Sees, shall suffer the same fate of the carpenter. The fifth wound will come as the sun lays itself to rest."

Xander stared at Rin shock for a full minute before everything sank in, "You have got to be kidding me!"


	7. Eye for an Eye?

Disclaimer: I do not own High School DxD, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Angel, Harry Potter, Naruto, and Rifts

Major AU: Do not expect this story to strictly follow canon for High School DxD.

Key: "Talking" 'Thought' [Sacred Gear] (Pailamancy or Telepathy) *Technique*

Author Note: Wow, a lot of you guessed Caleb as the current villain correctly, but so far none of you got the future arc. Though it probably is my fault as I made it REALLY esoteric.

**Eye for an Eye, Tooth for a Tooth.**

"Ah, that was fun," Rias Gremory stepped out of the transportation circle. She had just returned from the museum where she had spent the last hour examining a few artifacts. None of them had been supernatural, but they all had been quite interesting. For her efforts she was given a bronze age Khopesh that it would only take a few minor spells to return to as good as new. "Xander would probably love this. Bronze is very useful against some beings."

"Ara ara, Buchou giving Xander-kun priceless gifts." Akeno covered her mouth as she giggled, "One would think you are courting him."

"And so what if I was, Akeno," Rias' fired back with just a touch of edge to her voice, "He'd make a far better fiance than the pig my parents chose." She calmed down a moment later as she realized Akeno was just playfully teasing, "I'm sorry, I don't know what came over me." Rubbing her forehead with one hand as she sat in her chair and placed the package with her payment on the desk, "Riser has been complaining that I took another male as part of my family. Kaa-san has been supportive, but Tou-san is suggesting I trade Xander-kun away. I have the bad feeling Riser is going to try to press the issue now that I am the minimum marrying age."

Akeno nearly dropped the tray she was carrying when she heard that. "But wasn't there an agreement that the wedding would wait until after you finished University?"

"Yes, but it's completely verbal and not part of the written contract." Rias groaned as she began massaging her temples, "Sona and I have been pouring over it for a year now and so far there are only two outs. The first is all parties agree to the dissolution."

"With how obsessed Riser is with you, that's literally impossible," Akeno chimed in even as she was pouring the tea.

"There is some hope," Rias replied, "Though it would require me getting pregnant by someone other than my betrothed. Until recently that idea was just as repugnant as marrying Riser. Don't get me wrong, I love Kiba and Gasper, but I am just not attracted to either of them carnally. Issei there was a spark, but with Xander… Maou, if he made a move I wouldn't resist at all."

"Oh, isn't that just typical of women," A man with southwestern american accent interrupted. He had simply walked in the open door as casual as could be. Dressed in the typical garb of a Christian pastor, but forgoing a cross, he had brown hair and eyes, standing over six feet tall. "Not one of you is faithful to promises made. Here y'all are dishonoring your parents so you can whore yourself out to a man who ain't your betrothed. It's rather sickening, but I guess it's to be expected of your kind. It's a good thing I am here to properly punish you"

"That is a rather bold claim," Rias had shifted to her completely serious and dangerous tone as she stood up. "Might I know your name, so I can make an accurate report of your demise."

Akeno had bristled at the insinuation that Rias was a whore. One might have thought that the priestess of Thunder saw Rias as a sister, but that was only part of her feelings. Rias was her savior. If it wasn't for the redhead devil she would have died alone. Rias had taken her in, gave her a new life, treated her like a sister, and given her new purpose. If she were completely honest with herself she loved Rias as sister and a mother. There might have been a bit of romantic feelings as well. So it was no surprise she was already channeling lightning in preparation to destroy the priest.

"The name is Caleb, I'm an acquaintance of Alexander's." Caleb grinned as he took another step forward, "One could even say we have some business I left unfinished. So are you going to come along quiet-like, or are you aiming to misbehave?"

"You're the one who maimed my Xander." Rias was quite clearly angry now. Her personal sigil formed under her feet as she unleashed her full aura. Her hair whipped around her wildly as her magic began to visibly manifest. The red-black flames of the *Power of Destruction* raged in her hands, "Maiming my servants is a crime for which there is only one punishment: Death."

Akeno's normal facade completely vanished. As with Rias her personal sigil formed beneath her feet as her body crackled with lightning. While she was still a little unsure of how she felt about Xander, the idea of letting Caleb live for a moment longer was anathema to her. That didn't mean she didn't want to make him scream in pain. She just wanted it to be the last sound he made.

"Ah, but I was just relieving Alexander of his burden," Caleb smirked, "For seven years he had to bear witness to the likes of the Slayer and the Witch spreading their legs for all manner of depravity. Though he probably considers those days to be a joy compared to what he must see around you two."

"THAT'S IT!" Rias and Akeno shouted in unison as they unleashed hell on the serial killer. *Lightning* arced from Akeno's outstretched hands even as the *Power of Destruction* was flung by Rias. The two attacks strike Caleb head on. The clubrooms wards barely withstanding the thunderous shockwave. The two couches and coffee table that magically strengthened to withstand a blast of a hundred pounds of TNT were shredded into confetti.

As the dust and debris settled, Caleb simply dusted off his shoulder with a smirk on his lips, "Hoooowheee! Now those were some pretty powerful bits of magic you two tossed out. I actually felt them a bit." The man tilted his head a bit to crack his neck, "I reckon it's my turn."

"How did you… hurk!" Rias had been slack jawed for a moment. The amount of *Power of Destruction* she unleashed would have erased a main battle tank from existence. She knew that Akeno had released what would be considered an average bolt of real lightning. There should have been just a char mark on the carpet where Caleb stood. So as her mind tried to deal with the impossibility of what she saw, Rias had let her guard down. The result was a fist impacting her abdomen that felt like a round house from Koneko. She was instantly doubled up as she was vomiting up the french toast she had for breakfast even as her lungs were screaming for air.

"Now that is all sorts of disappointin' I woulda reckoned that Alexander woulda had you improvin' all your skills." Caleb's tone was entirely too calm and collected as he regarded Rias retching up her breakfast.

"You son of a...heyeck!" Akeno had charged in with a lightning covered fist only to have Caleb knock it away and grab her by the throat.

"Now, now, I only need the Whore for the next act." Caleb said as he gave his hand a twist. There was a slight crack and Akeno fell limp in his arms as her eyes fluttered shut. Without a single care he dropped the black haired girl to the ground.

"You… monster." Rias barely wheezed out as she saw her best friend fall to the ground in a lifeless heap.

"That's rich coming from the likes of you," Caleb chuckled darkly, as he put Rias in a sleeper hold, cutting off the blood flow to her brain. "I wouldn't worry about missing your friend, you'll be reunited soon."

…

…

…

"Please pick up. Please pick up. Please pick up. I'll do anything you ask, just please pick up!" Xander chanted after dialing Rias' number. The phone kept ringing before switching to her voice mail. "Buchou-chan, gather everybody and hole up with the Student Council. Don't let anyone in unless you know exactly who they are. Call me back as soon as you get this."

Xander was racing as quickly as he could jumping from roof to roof towards Kuoh Academy. It was Sunday and classes were not in session, but the ORC still handled summon requests. 'Please let it be a slow day and everyone is there. They might be able to handle him then.'

Even as he continued running, Xander dialed Akeno's number. Just like with Rias' there was no answer and he left a similar message. He then moved on Kiba's number, but he too was busy. It was only when he tried Koneko that he got through. "Koneko, Caleb's here. I think the same way I got here. Meet me at the clubroom, he's going after Buchou-chan."

"He's already got her," Koneko replied evenly. She waited for Xander's stream of profanity to end, making note of a few of the phrases that she might want to use in the future. When it finally ended with a request of how she knew, she answered, "I saw him leaving the old school house with her over his shoulder. I am following his van now. I called Akeno first, but she must be with a client."

"Kiba isn't answering his phone either," Xander responded. "Keep me updated on where he's going. Do not attempt to take him on yourself. If he took Buchou-chan, he's too strong for any one of us."

"Got it."

…

…

…

"Just what do you think you are going to do with that?" Rias Gremory snarled as she watched her captor pick up a six inch iron spike and examine it. She had only been awoken a minute prior when cold water had been splashed in her face. She'd spent that time assessing her situation and did not like any of it. 'The perverted bastard stripped me down to just my thong! If that wasn't enough I am tied to a support cross beam in a sake distillery.' Then her eyes lit on the psychopath who'd kidnapped her. She wasn't too proud to admit that he scared her a little. She'd seen some horrific murders, but the way Caleb had just simply snapped Akeno's neck without a reaction good or bad was something new.

"I was contemplatin' doing a traditional crucifixion with you, Rias." Caleb twirled the spike in his fingers as he picked up a heavy hammer, "But you being a devil and all, I can't use a cross or you'll die a mite bit quicker than I want. So I am making do with this support beam. Now be a good girl and scream real loud for me."

"You will not get away with this," Rias spat out with as much venom as she could. Despite the fear roiling in her belly, Rias called upon her *Power of Destruction*. The only result was her eyes widening in shock as it refused to manifest. She quickly attempted a spell, only to have it fail as well, "...How?"

"A simple Devil's Trap. None of your fancy powers will work while it's on your forehead." Caleb chuckled, "I did my research as I watched you and Alexander. Learned a whole bunch of interestin' things." Still twirling the spike in his fingers he approached Rias' right hand. "For instance. I thought they put the nails in the palms, but no. There is a place in the wrist that if I were to drive this in, a tendon that goes all the way to your shoulder would break. You'll have to use your back muscles to support yourself so you can breathe. Course that'd only be true once I remove the ropes." As he was explaining, Caleb placed the sharp end of the spike to the spot in her wrist and drove it in with one incredibly powerful blow.

"AAIIIIEEEEE!" Rias wanted to keep from crying out. She wanted to refuse to give the bastard the satisfaction of knowing how much pain she was causing. It was not to be. As the iron spike pierced her wrist there was nothing but searing pain. It was as if her entire arm was set ablaze. That pain gave birth to a rage that overwhelmed her fear. "YOU BASTARD!"

"Aw, that just ain't true." Caleb replied with a shake of his head. "My parents were married for eleven months 'fore I was born." Even as Rias was panting and crying from the ordeal of the first nail being pounded in, Caleb moved to her left hand and produced a second spike. "Oh, in case you were wondering why it hurts so much, I coated them with salt."

…

…

…

"AAIIIIEEEEEE!"

"Fucking bastard!" Xander cursed as he shrugged on the tactical vest. He'd just arrived on scene after Konkeo had told him the van had stopped at the old Mooring Rope Sake Brewery. "He just couldn't wait a few more minutes." Xander groused as he made his way to the double doors even as he was pulling out his Mare's leg again. "Koneko, if you would…"

"Sure," Konkeo nodded as she gripped the knuckle dusters that Xander had given her. Like him she was wearing a tactical vest loaded with a variety of grenades and chemical sprays. Raising her leg he gave the doors a mighty kick reducing them to splinters. "Door's open."

"AIIIEEEEEE!" Despite the burning in her lungs, Rias screamed again as Caleb drove in the last of the three nails. This one was through both of her feet into the support beam. If she wasn't being held aloft by the ropes she would be slowly suffocated. As it was she was just in unbearable amounts of pain. 'Oh Maou, my mind has snapped. I see Xander and Koneko.'

"Well, well, well," Caleb stood up and tossed his hammer to the side once he saw his guests, "Yer actually a mite bit earlier than I'd reckoned." Straightening his cuffs as he took a few steps towards the now destroyed doors, the faux priest smiled wide, "But that is fine with me. You get to have your big damned heroes moment before I pluck out your other eye."

"No sermons for…" Xander had begun his snarky response when he caught sight of Rias. While normally the sight of a nearly naked Rias in her nearly transparent thong was enough to rouse his inner pervert and the fact that she was tied up would make it worse, this wasn't one of those times. At his base core, Xander was overly protective of those he considered his girls. It didn't matter how powerful they were, he saw it as his duty to protect them as much as he could. In just a few short weeks Rias and the rest of the girls of the ORC had become his girls almost as much as Buffy, Willow, Cordellia, Faith, and Dawn were. So it should not be unexpected that seeing Rias' wrists and feet literally nailed to a support beam triggered what Angel had once dubbed as Serious Xander. "...you're going to die screaming."

The one-eyed carpenter didn't reach for a weapon, he simply flicked his wrists manifesting the twin gauntlets of his Sacred gear. He had been practicing manifesting the gauntlets until it was nearly instantaneous. However this time something was far different. The Twice Critical had manifested as dull red half gauntlets with two bronze spikes and a forest green gem. What manifested was full gauntlets that covered Xander's entire hand with protective greaves that reached to his elbows and claw like flingers. The celtic knots on the surface were burnished gold as were the two spikes long spikes. The gem was now jade green that glowed brightly even in the well let distillery.

[Boosted Gear: First Evolution!]

The only sign that Koneko was shocked was the widening of her eyes. She was sad to say it wasn't seeing Rias that had shocked her. While she loved Rias dearly, she was just a little too damaged in some way to be shocked by torture. No, her shock was finding out that one of the Longinus class Sacred Gears was in the hands of a person who as a powerless mortal had gone toe to toe with two literal Gods and one being who might as well have been. Her entire thought process was summed up when she looked at Caleb and muttered just two words: "You're fucked."

"Ain't that something," Caleb grinned wide "Won't change much. Just take a bit longer is all."

Tears were streaming down her face as she saw just who had come to her rescue. Instinctively she attempted to use her arms to prop herself into a better position to watch, only to have to bite her tongue to keep from screaming. The pain in her arms and shoulders was almost mind shattering. With a grunt of effort she managed to power her way through lifting her torso enough she could see. "Xander… take Koneko and run… save yourselves!"

"If you run, I will untie the ropes and let her die of suffocation," Caleb responded with a feral grin, "I reckon that in your travels you know just how painful a execution by crucifixion is. Of course, you might be thinkin' you'll come back with a posse and save the day." Caleb continued on, "I already killed the whore. Snapped her neck like a twig."

[BOOST!]

"YOU'RE DEAD!" Xander surged forward incredible speed with the single intention of putting his fist through Caleb's chest. Unfortunately even as empowered as he was being a Devil and two levels of augmentation from the Boosted Gear, his fist literally came to a stop as it impacted the defrocked priest, "What the Hell?"

"I ain't dumb enough to let the cat out of the bag," Caleb said before delivering a palm thrust to Xander. The psychopath was only mildly perturbed to see that his blow hadn't caved in the man's chest. Instead the one eyed carpenter had been picked up bodily and flung out of the distillery tumbling ass over tea kettle several times before landing in a heap. "Now…"

Koneko didn't let Caleb continue on and possibly start a lecture. She surged forward with a shoulder to the breadbasket. While she was much smaller than Xander she was decidedly stronger. Koneko had always been extremely physically powerful even before she was a Rook. Afterwards she was a true Juggernaut in everything but size. When she hit Caleb he was knocked to the floor. Immediately she reached for his leg in the attempt to break it as Xander had taught her. Unfortunately she was immediately rewarded with a boot to the face sending her stumbling back a few steps.

"Quiet one, ain't ya," Caleb observed as he kipped up to his feet and met a charging Koneko with a right cross that sent her sprawling into a stand of empty barrels, "Perhaps I should give you motivation." With that Caleb crossed the distance and gave a powerful kick to the petite girl's ribs as she had been just getting up to her hands and knees. "Still silent? Let's try again."

Koneko acted quickly as Caleb drew his leg back. She reached out and grabbed his ankle and pulled hard. Already off balance, the psychotic preacher toppled backwards. Taking opportunity she surged to her feet, still holding the man's ankle. Swinging his around twice she flung into one of the support beams. "Suck it."

"Now is that any way for a lady to talk?" Caleb hand managed to land on his feet and made his move with blinding speed, he'd grabbed Koneko's arm and twisted it behind her back where she had no leverage. When she tried to elbow him, he simply caught the arm and twisted it around as well. Now both of the small woman's arms were trapped behind her back. "Now, what do we have here? You're completely helpless. Whatever should I do?"

"No...don't kill her too," Rias gasped out, tears streaming down her cheeks, "You have me...you don't need her."

"Well isn't that somethin'. A whore like you weeping for your little slave," Caleb sneered, "No need to fret, you'll be reunited with her soon." Holding Koneko's wrists together with just one hand, the serial killer reached around for chin, "Ain't no use struggling, the end is inevitable."

Koneko was not one to just give up. Despite the fact that she had no leverage to apply her insane strength she kept trying to wrest her arms free. "Only end that's coming is yours."

"You think you can escape and kill me?" Caleb snorted in derision.

"I'm just the distraction." Koneko finally stilled her struggles, "He's back."

"RAAAAAGH!" Xander surged forward with a deafening roar. His clawed fingers tearing wicked gouges in Caleb's back. Between the surprise and pain, the psychopath released Koneko with a powerful shove, "You. You took my eye. You killed my cubs. You threaten my mates. YOU WILL DIE!"

[Boost!]

"M-mates?" Rias gasped out.

"Looks like Primal is in charge," Koneko observed, "This d-bag is beyond fucked."

"I never entertained the notion you'd stoop to settin' that thing free," as he turned to face Xander full on, "Reckon you'll rape the whore if you manage to beat me? I mean even they wouldn't practice beastiality."

"Won't be your concern," Xander spat out, his teeth were now visible and it was clear whatever had possessed him had given him the fangs of a predator. He didn't wait for a response charged forward, driving his booted foot into Caleb's crotch. Only it didn't seem to have much effect.

"Sorry to disappoint. I lost the boys a little bit after puberty, why do you think I resort to killing for my kicks?" Caleb responded as he grabbed Xander's leg and readied himself to toss the man.

Only he never got the chance as Xander twisted in his grip and delivered a kick to the face that sent the faux preacher sprawling. Xander was far quicker to recover and was on the downed man in an instant. He had Caleb's arms pinned beneath him as he literally sat on the man's torso and began raining heavy blows to the serial killer's face over and over again. Each blow wasn't seeming to do much if any damage.

"Hahaha, you won't be able to kill me as long as I have the Earrings of Karna, boy," Caleb managed to get out between blows to the head.

[Boost!]

"Then I'll just rip them off of you!" Xander growled as he grabbed the man's ears with clawed fingers and pulled. It took a moment, but both ears tore off.

"AAAAARRRRRGGGGHHH!"

Tossing the ears and the now visible gaudy earrings aside, Xander stood up, flipping Caleb over on to his belly. Two stomps later, he'd broken every rib on both sides of the psychopath's spine. With a snarl he dug his claws into the man's back and ripped. When it was all said and done, Xander was standing over the ruined corpse of the faux preacher holding the man's spine and head in his right hand. "Primal Wins! Fatality!"

…

…

…

"Would you stop that?! It tickles," Rias Gremory was squirming as her Pawn was literally licking the wounds in her feet. She had been too shocked when he did it for her wrists to say a word. If pressed she might admit she found it oddly thrilling, but she was too ticklish in her feet to withstand the attention, "Why are you doing that anyways?"

"The Primal sees you as a mate and he's cleaning your wounds," Koneko replied stoically. She'd watched Xander slaughter Caleb and while it resembled what her sister had done so many years ago, the actions afterwards were anything but. He'd nuzzled Koneko as he checked her over for wounds. Then he'd freed Rias before he started to clean her up. "He probably sees me as a cub."

Xander looked at Koneko quizzically at her words, but then simply went back to work trying to ease Rias' pain. As her feet were now cleaned of blood he moved to perform a full body cuddle and even dragged Koneko into it. For once the small woman did not fight being manhandled into a hug.

"What the hell happened to him? He was able to speak and quip with that bastard," Rias was confused. This behavior was not what she knew of Xander. It also didn't fit what she had seen in the episode Primal. "It's like all his higher functions stopped."

…

…

…

In the Sunnydale Gymnasium, three Xander Harrises were squaring off. The first was the one eyed carpenter turned demon hunter wearing his Kuoh academy uniform and a leather jacket. The second was dressed in BDU's and carrying heavily customized M4 Carbine. The third had a distinctive feral look as he was garbed in just bloody rags.

"Alright, it's time to go back in the cage," One Eyed Xander said, "I let you out and you had your fun."

"No! I protected our mates! Not you. Not the Soldier. Me." Primal Xander snarled, "I deserve to have them."

"First of all they aren't my mates. Second, I let you help me beat Caleb, I didn't let you take over," One Eyed Xander replied, "And the Private helped as well."

"Sir, thank you for acknowledging my contribution, sir," Soldier Xander all but shouted out.

"I'm not going back in that filthy cage. It's so boring." Primal Xander whined, "You'll have to kill me."

"We've been over this," One Eyed Xander sighed, "One of us dies and we all die."

"Sir, perhaps we should follow Tara's suggestion, sir." Soldier Xander barked out.

"Merge with you two?" One Eyed Xander mused as he scratched his chin, "I didn't do it then because we weren't sure who would be dominant and neither one of you were listening to me at all."

"Grrrr. You would be." Primal Xander sulked, "You're almost strong enough you could survive killing us."

"Sir, I concur with the Primal, sir." Soldier Xander replied, "You have gained the real world experience needed to successfully handle my training and the Primal's instincts, sir."

One Eyed Xander began massaging his temples in a vain attempt to ward off a headache. "Will you cooperate with a merging, Primal?"

"I have some conditions," Primal Xander stated simply, "More rare steaks and burgers. More hunting, I don't care what we hunt. I just want to hunt. No more denying yourself a mate. We all loved Anya, but we need to move on."

"I can do the first and second, but I doubt the girls you consider my mates see me that way," One Eyed Xander responded, "But… I won't push them away if they do. Good enough?"

"Yeah, that's good enough," Primal Xander smirked as he agreed. "Don't you want something Soldier Boy?"

"No, I got everything I need," Soldier Xander grinned.

"Alright, let's do this," One Eyed Xander extended his arm with a closed fist. A second later Soldier Xander did the same as did Primal Xander. Just as they were bumping fists, a fourth brunette appeared and added his own fist before anyone could do anything.

…

…

...

'Okay, I am not laying face first on the floor. Something silky soft and smooth on my cheeks, the scent of vanilla and cinnamon, and a gentle lub-dub… I'm being held in Rias' cleavage… this is AMAZING!' Xander had regained his senses just a few moments ago as the merger occurred. While he was still himself, something was just off. Giving himself a mental shake, Xander decided to let Rias know he was no longer running on instinct. 'I'll just pull away from the… nope, she's holding me tight… with her legs?' "Mmmphaammph!"

"I think Senpai is in control again, Boucho." Koneko said as she managed to extricate herself from the three way hug. "You should probably let him go if you want to talk with him."

Rias' blush was nearly tomato red as she unlocked her legs from around Xander. She still couldn't move her arms without extreme pain, so she had hugged Xander back with her legs. It was all in the name of simple comfort, both of herself and her Rook and beloved Pawn. "Sorry about that Xander-kun, I guess the stress of the day got to me."

"No need to apologize, Boucho-chan," Xander replied as he retrieved one of the bottles of Mohra blood. In moments he was sprinkling a few droplets in each of Rias' wounds as well as getting her to take a drop orally. He did the same for Koneko and then himself, to make sure that they wouldn't keel over from internal bleeding, "I'm the one who should be apologizing. I should have been…"

"Shhh," Rias shushed Xander with a finger to his lips, "None of this is your fault. I'm just glad you got revenge for Akeno." With that last word, Rias' voice cracked and tears were forming in the corners of her eyes.

"She's right," Koneko replied "You killed the D-bag before he could add more victims."

"Yeah, I… just am tired of attending my friend's funerals," Xander sighed as he stood up, "We should clean up the scene and head back. No doubt Asia will be back from her summons soon."

…

…

…

'I can't believe he just killed Akeno like that,' Rias was deep in her thoughts, 'She never got to have a date, develop a crush, or even kiss a man. She definitely didn't get to have the family she always wanted. She's done nothing but serve me since we were nine. I've tried to be a friend and a sister, but I know I wasn't as good as I should have been. I wonder if… oof!' Her thoughts were interrupted as she literally ran into Xander's back just as he had stepped inside the ORC meeting room. "Hey, try to give some warning when you stop."

"Akeno-nee?" Koneko was for once in her life openly showed an emotion and that emotion was shock.

Rias peered around Xander and her eyes widened in surprise. Asia was napping on one of the restored couches while Akeno was laid out on the other one and glaring daggers at Kiba. It didn't take long to see why she was glaring, Kiba swept in from the kitchen bearing the usual tea set and began serving her. Akeno had always insisted that she would be the one to serve tea and snacks at all meetings of the ORC, even if that meeting was just two members. The girl took it as a point of pride.

"Kiba-kun, I feel perfectly fine now. Asia-chan's healing ability is truly top notch. Let me resume my duties." Akeno all but growled.

"Akeno-nee, you had a broken neck and Asia-chan barely saved you from dying," Kiba was calm and collected despite the mild aura of malice Akeno was projecting, "You should rest until she can perform a second healing… please."

"AKENO!" Rias cried out as she rushed forward and dropped to her knees by the couch and grabbed her Queen's hand, "Thank Maou you are alright!"


	8. Inquest and Bequest

Disclaimer: I do not own High School DxD, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Angel, Harry Potter, Naruto, and Rifts

Major AU: Do not expect this story to strictly follow canon for High School DxD.

Key: "Talking" 'Thought' [Sacred Gear] (Pailamancy or Telepathy) *Technique*

Author Notes: This chapter will explaining a few things everyone has been scratching their heads over from the last chapter. One thing won't be covered, but I really need to get this across: No, the fourth brunette was not Issei. It was the incarnation of Issei's dream to have a harem, not for his simple sexual pleasure but satisfy his desire to love and be loved. That is literally all that merged in with the Three Xanders. I had thought of adding his Perversion, but Xander already has to deal with the effects of a libido that is the accumulation of Normal!Xander, Primal!Xander, and Soldier!Xander. While this does make him somewhat of a pervert, it's not nearly as intense as Issei who for all intents and purposes is one of the most perverted characters in anime and we're including characters like Master Roshi and Jiraiya of the Sannin when we make that comparison.

Another Author Note: To all OppaiDragon Lovers: Yes, it will happen and the fault will belong to Azazel and Sirzechs

Yet Another Author Note: There was a comment about the *Claymore of Oblivion* being a nerf for Rias. Compared to her normal attacks which are singular large blasts of *Power of Destruction* the *Claymore of Oblivion* launches hundreds of tiny spheres of *Power of Destruction* in a spray that impossible to dodge unless you leave the cone of effect. It also can't be easily countered except by a large shield. Yes, her normal attacks would normally do much more damage, but they can be dodged, parried, or caught much more easily than the spray of smaller projectiles. The *Claymore of Oblivion* also makes it easier to hit multiple opponents simultaneously.

Yet Another Author Note: In the episode Primal the possessing force is Hyena based. However over the years the Primal fragment in Xander lost it's connection to the hyena behavior template. It has been influenced by other animal type spirits when Xander was forced to use it, namely lions, cheetah, wolves, bulls and silverback gorillas. In essence the Primal is just the pure animal instinct to survive that even humans have. Of course before the merger it was getting a heavy dose of Dragon influence.

Inquests and Bequests

"Then Xander ripped out his spine with the head attached and says 'Primal Wins: Fatality." Rias Gremory concluded the tale of the fight with Caleb. Of course said recounting of the story was complete with pantomime provided by Xander and Koneko for their parts. Rias had animated a dummy to serve as Caleb in the reinactment. Though Xander had pulled out the still gory skull and spine and the end to properly do the pose he'd done, "It was…"

"Terrifying?" Asia spoke up, despite being a little green around the edges at seeing the remains of the defrocked priest. Having spent a few months around various Fallen Angels and Stray Exorcists she had been subjected to far worse trophy taking. Things that would have sent her running to purge her stomach were not nearly as bad anymore. Atop that was the belief that Xander would only do that to beings whom had no chance of redemption and had earned it.

"…Sexy." Akeno Himejima breathed out, as she stared at Xander. Shaking her head clear of the fantasies that she was having, she let out a genuine giggle, "So is that just a trophy?"

"Well… it will be once I get it cleaned and bronzed," Xander replied sheepishly, "Primal originally intended for it to be a grave marker to warn everyone not to kill one of my girls." He was now rubbing the back of his neck as everyone was looking at him, some faces were full of wonder and others with concern, "Back to the story, after freeing Buchou-chan I used some of the Mohra blood to heal her and we came back here."

"Trying skip over the part where you were licking her wounds clean?" Koneko offered the barest hint of a smirk as she ratted Xander out. As he part of the story was done she reclaimed her spot on the couch and started enjoying Kiba's version of the famous MOS Burger and fries. "Or that to calm you down she had to put you in Marshmallow Hell?"

Rias blushed a very pretty pink as Xander just sputtered incoherently for a moment.

…

...

"Okay, according to the ID on the body this is the address," Xander said as checked the number of the door to the apartment. 'I'm glad Koneko looted the corpse while I was out of it.' Inserting the key in the lock it only took a few seconds to open the door and turn on the light, "Great Shades of Mark Chapman. I think we now know how he knew everything."

Xander stepped to the side and let the rest of the ORC have a good look at the apartment. Three out of four walls were covered in various photos of Rias, each of them taken without her knowledge let alone consent. There were photos of her sitting in class to shots of her in the club shower, and everything in between. As if that wasn't creepy enough there were pairs of her underwear that she had thought had just been lost or stolen by one of the perverted trio. The fourth wall was just as disturbing and was obviously from when Caleb had taken over the body of the stalker. It was plastered with pictures of Xander and notes on how best to destroy him.

"This… this… this…" Rias was rendered speechless. She hadn't a single inkling that anyone had been watching her let alone for the two years that the pictures and underwear spanned. "I feel so violated."

"Fufufu," Akeno's laugh was not mocking, but out of nervousness. She had some pretty twisted clients, including the head of a Zaibatsu who liked to be humiliated while getting his feet massaged, but this was a different level of insane. She stopped trying to wrap her mind around it and instead moved to examine the book shelf, "He's been in contact with Exorcists. I see one of their primers on magic circles here."

"I will have to apologize to Issei when I visit the memorial shrine," Koneko muttered as she made her way to the computer set up in one corner of the room, "He is no longer the worst."

"Are those laser microphones, or am I mistaken?" Kiba pointed to several objects on the coffee table in the room.

"You're not mistaken, Kiba." Xander replied as his attention was drawn away from the walls to the objects that Kiba was motioning to. "State of the Art as well. He was probably listening in on most of our meetings."

"Buchou, he's been in contact with some Stray Exorcists and Magicians online," Koneko wasn't quite the hacker that Gasper was, but she was good enough for system in front of her, "Before his change they were using him as a spy on you. They fed him information about his Sacred Gear as payment."

"Well, gotta give them credit for knowing how to use a resource," Xander pinched the bridge of his nose. "Is there any reason he was at the convention, because this guy is pretty much all about Rias until Father Misogynist took over."

"Ano." Asia spoke up to gather everyone's attention, "He seems to be a fan of Buffy the Vampire Slayer. He has five copies of the series, and three copies of the comics." The former Nun continued looking through the videos until she spotted something that she was unfamiliar with, "What is a snuff film?"

"Something that you are much too good natured to watch," Akeno spoke up quickly, "Why don't you look through the book while I peruse the video collection?"

"Well, the good news is that the closets, refrigerator, and pantry are free of any human remains," Xander chimed in, "The bad news is that I don't think Rias was the first person Ear stalked. There are photo albums with three other redheads and all of them end with a newspaper clipping of them going missing."

"Maou," Rias grumbled, "The police aren't going to stop looking until they find him. The normal deterrents won't keep them from investigating me and Xander in that case."

"Oh this is simple, some we put some bomb making materials here, the Anarchist cookbook, and then find a secluded area I set up some explosives and obliterate everything from mid thigh up," Xander explained, "The police will investigate the scene find the remains including Ear's ID and immigration papers. They'll come here, search the place and close some cold cases."

"That's just brilliant," Kiba spoke up, "We won't be implicated. They'll assume he wanted to get Xander out of the picture and then pursue Buchou for his sick fantasies."

"It is a good plan," Rias nodded her head, "See it through and make sure none of it can be traced back to us."

…

... 

Rias Gremory was sitting at her desk, her glasses perched on her nose, as she read over the latest customer reviews on her servants. As usual there was a lot of praise for Akeno, Kiba, and Koneko. True there was a complaint by a few of Akeno's clients that she wouldn't perform services of a sexual nature, but Rias dismissed those. There wasn't a chance she would make any of her servants do anything like that. Asia was loved by all the rich children who just wanted to play card games, hear bed time stories, or have tea parties with an older sister. As for Xander, every one of his clients was weird, but they loved him. Mil-tan contracted him twice more to help teach others how to brew the Polyjuice. Susan the exchange student was taking self defense lessons from him so she'd be less afraid. Then there was Zales who just wanted someone to hang out with him and not kiss his ass because he was rich.

"Buchou, we have some guests that you really should speak with," Akeno hated interrupting Rias when she was reading reviews. It was part of the job that brightened her King's day. However, she wasn't kidding about having important visitors.

"Very well, I was nearly done anyway," Rias collected the reviews and slipped them back into the appropriate folders, "Show our guests in and prepare some tea if you would be so kind."

"No need to show us in, Akeno-chan, we're already here. I must say, for once the rumors hold merit. You two are as lovely as my dear wife," The speaker was six and a half feet tall, with a powerful build that was clearly for strength and endurance, not show. His face was rugged and attractive, but not truly handsome while his hair and beard were an orange-red reminiscent of lava and his blue eye twinkled merrily. His clothes were finely made, but were meant for labor not fashion or impressing others. "Greeting Rias Gremory and Akeno Himejima, I am Hesphaestus of Olympus and this is my loving wife Aphrodite."

When Aphrodite entered the view, both Rias and Akeno felt just a slight bit inadequate. She was only a few inches shorter than her husband, and had a body that was pure feminine perfection. Her face was the definition of seductive beauty. Even her brunette hair with the braid that hung to her knees seemed perfect. And the woman's clothes were more than a tad on the seductive side as she was wearing a baby-tee that came just below her nipples, a pair of leather pants that seemed painted on and the very visible straps to her thong. "You are becoming a much better flirt, my love. But, in this case your words are true instead of just flattery. You ladies are simply gorgeous, if I didn't know better I would think you were mine."

"Hephaestus-sama and Aphrodite-sama, it is a pleasure to meet you. Please have a seat, my Queen, Akeno, will be serving tea, if it pleases you," Rias was more than thankful for the etiquette lessons that her mother had imparted. Much of the training had been how to quickly get over shock, "I must admit I was not expecting you."

"Really? Did you think I would just simply hand you items from my forge without coming to assess your character and take measurements?" Hephaestus was amused, not angry and let it show. The man was all smiles as he visibly appraised the two devil's bodies, "Just where is the rest of the peerage? I'll need to meet them, especially Alexander."

"Oh yes, I definitely want to meet Alexander," Aphrodite nodded, "After the help he gave my poor Mil-tan, I feel I owe the stud a favor."

Rias' right eye twitched at Aphrodite's seductive tone and choice of words. It was widely known that the Greek Pantheon had a very interesting definition of marital fidelity. Aphrodite wasn't the worst, but that was because Zeus was so very prolific. "Your Mil-tan?"

"One of my many grandchildren, well if you put a tack on a few greats," Aphrodite giggled as noticed Rias' rising jealousy. "Don't worry, Sweetie, I have no plans to bed him for at least two years. I promised Heph another child now that ours are all out of the house so to speak."

"I was under the impression that you didn't have any children with your husband." Akeno piped in as she set down the tea service and began being mother. "Legend has it that Ares was the father of many of your children."

"Bwahahahaha!" Hephaestus could not help bursting out into laughter. "I wonder how he got mortals to believe that little bit of fiction. Oh, it's true I caught Ares in bed with my wife, but he was catching if you know what I mean."

"As if I would stoop to allowing that brute to have his way with me," Aphrodite scoffed, "He might have won the wager in order to have sex with me, but I never said I'd be the one penetrated. My loving husband made me a toy for those times I visit Isis or Freya, so I tried it out on Ares. Sadly the little brute enjoys it, so now I have monthly visits from him. Though the sessions do let me work out my aggressions."

"I must say I admire your style, my Lady," Akeno smirked as she understood precisely what Aphrodite meant.

"I pray your future plans with my Xander won't include such things," Rias struggled to keep from laughing. She couldn't help but picture the God of War walking funny after his romp with the Goddess of Love.

"If they did, I wouldn't need to wait two years," Aphrodite smirked.

Rias' eye twitched again at the goddesses' antics. Instead of rising to the bait, she changed subjects. "I am afraid that only Gasper-kun is here. The others are out on summons, but should be back soon."

"Well, then let's take Gasper-kun's measurements and then wait for the others," Hephaestus suggested.

…

... 

"So he's the Xander-kun you keep mentioning?" The awe struck tone of the nine year old brunette girl was adorable.

"Yes he is, Rei-chan," Asia smiled widely as she gave the girl a hug. Rei was one of Asia's favorite clients. She only ever paid a dollar at a time for visits, but that was really all Asia would accept from the burn victim. Ninety percent of Rei was covered in burn scars and she'd only survived thanks some bleeding edge medical advancements. However those treatments still left her with horrible scars. "Xander-kun, this a Rei-chan. She's the one I asked you about."

"Well aren't you just adorable?" Xander squatted down a bit so he could look Rei in the eyes. He wasn't really sugar coating anything or lying. He'd known a few peaceful tribes of demons who as children looked no different that Rei. So Xander had quickly adjusted his filter of what he considered cute. "It's nice to meet you, Rei-chan."

"Thank you, Xander-san," Rei blushed a little as she offered her hand. She was amazed to see Xander kiss the back as if she were a lovely lady. "It's nice to meet you two, even if this doesn't work."

"Oh, it will work," Xander said after a moment, "I just have to ask if you're sure you want to do this. It's going to be incredibly painful. Probably more than the fires that burned you."

"Really?" Rei was not in the least bit deterred by the idea of the pain. She had been living with that constantly for the last two years, but it was just getting worse, "It will work?"

"Oh yes, I did the same thing for one of my girls who'd been a victim of napalm," Xander replied, "It's the same principle here. Asia will apply the cream and then you drink a tablespoon of this," he explained as he held up one of the bottles of the Mohra blood, "Then I apply the catalyst. Asia will use her Twilight Healing so you don't go into shock from the initial pain. Then we will use the numbing cream so you're comfortable. You'll have to stay awake for an hour and then we can rinse it off. Now, I want to be clear, you have to let the scars begin to peel on their own as the skin underneath will be new and very sensitive. We made that mistake with Marie on her left hand. She couldn't use it for a week it was so painful."

"Will you come visit me when I am beautiful again, Xander-san?" Rei asked hopefully.

"What are you talking about?" Xander asked as he handed Asia the jar of the special cream Willow had designed, "You're beautiful now." He said as he ruffled her hair, getting a giggle out of Rei, "But, yeah, it's a date, one month from today I'll take you to the Arcade."

…

... 

"Alright we're back from our double contract," Xander announced as he entered through the main doors. "And we got a great payment!" He proclaimed as he was waving a document tube, "You'll love it!" He said as he was moving his way to the coffee table as he was uncapping the tube. It was at this point he noticed that there were two new individuals in the room. Coming to a stop immediately he looked over the man and woman and inhaled through his nose for a moment, "Sorry, Buchou-chan, I didn't realize you had guests."

"You must be Alexander," Aphrodite rose from her husband's lap and offered her hand, "I am Aphrodite of Olympus, it is a pleasure to meet you. I must say I am singularly impressed that you saved a world through your love. Not many mortals in any realm can claim that, let alone one from a Grim Dark Realm."

Part of Xander's mind locked up, but it wasn't because of Aphrodite's beauty. As his body acted on autopilot and took the goddess' hand and kissed the back, Xander was remembering what could have been considered a mortal sin against her. Remembering his disastrous attempt with the Love Spell, he could only think of one thing to say, "I am sorry about the spell I got Amy to cast, Aphrodite-sama."

"Fufufu, you think I would be mad about such a thing? You received punishment enough just experiencing that," Aphrodite giggled, "Besides you showed yourself to be very honorable through the whole ordeal. Perhaps a little too honorable in some cases, but that isn't why we are here. Let me introduce you to my loving husband, Hephaestus."

Hephaestus rose from his seat and grasped Xander arm in a warrior's handshake. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Alexander. My wife and daughters speak highly of you." The god paused for second, "Which is impressive, as I can count the number of things Harmonia and Discord agree on with two hands and with a few fingers left over."

"I think I now understand a bit more about my life," Xander muttered as that tidbit of knowledge seeped in, "It's an honor to meet you, Hephaestus-sama."

"Fufufu," both Akeno and Aphrodite let out practically identical giggles at the same time.

"Oh Maou, forgive my rudeness, may I present Asia Argento, one of my dear friends and Bishop to Rias Gremory," Xander introduced the former nun beside him.

"Oh, aren't you just adorable." Aphrodite swooped in and hugged the shy nun before she could utter a word, "Can I keep her? I'll trade you Discord!"

"Asia is family and I would not trade her for anything," Rias smiled warmly at the Goddess' antics. She had the same reaction to Koneko and Kiba when they had entered just a few minutes prior. Though, in Kiba's case she wanted to marry him to Harmonia so he'd be a son-in-law, "Besides, I do not think your Daughter would appreciate serving someone so much younger."

"She has a point, Love," Hephaestus chuckled, "You really would miss Discord after a week anyways. Who would you take to the Twilight movies? I mean I enjoy heckling them, but I am just not as verbally creative."

Aphrodite turned to look at Xander with a calculating gleam in her eye.

"Oh no, I refuse," Xander knew what that look meant, "I had to watch them once. I would sooner swear off Twinkies and washing Rias' hair before I watched them again… even if I was there to heckle."

"Wait, is that the reason we haven't been bathing together that often?" Akeno's head whipped around to regard her King. "I thought you were just sleeping with him."

Kiba coughed as the cookie he was eating went down the wrong pipe. "W-what?"

"Relax. They just sleep in the same bed." Koneko replied in her usual monotone as she continued to eat her cookies before taking a sip of her tea.

"Well that's a relief," Asia let out a sigh of relief, "At least I am not too far behind."

"Let's get back to the focus of why Hephaestus and Aphrodite-sama are here," Rias did not want to admit that she was getting sexual and romantic gratification just from letting Xander wash her hair. While she had no doubt her peerage would keep the secret, the teasing from Akeno would be relentless. Even now she knew she was in for days of playful jibes, "It that is alright with you."

"It's more than alright," Hephaestus laughed as he graced Rias with a smile "I am too easily side tracked even when I am not surrounded by such beauty." Turning to Xander, "I have already crafted an eye for you, Alexander. It's something I have been working on since I was dragged to the Goblet of Fire movie."

"I had to convince him not to just let it spin around wildly in your eye socket," Aphrodite sighed in exasperation at the slight silliness of that idea. "Not to mention making it so it fit in your eye socket."

"Thank you for that," Xander didn't need to be told that the God of Forges liked to experiment. He was a guy. Way too many of them were like Tim 'the Toolman' Taylor from Tool Time for their own good. He himself was in that group when he wasn't working a paying job, "So what do you got? Willow tried, but honestly she's brute power, not finesse and artistry. The eye she made caused splitting headaches, nausea, and the inability to focus on anything closer than the Lunar Landing site."

Everyone in the room flinched as they imagined just how uncomfortable that would be. Koneko actually had a look of sympathy for Xander.

"Well, I have millennia of experience over her," Hephaestus shrugged as he pulled out a small hinged box and opened it. Inside was a spherical star ruby with four rays, "I present to you the Eye of Omen. You can blame Hermes for the name. Don't worry about it's appearance, any time you are not in combat it will create an illusion that makes it appear to be a natural eye. It can't be stolen either, only you will be able to remove it."

"Dare I ask what it can do?" Kiba was the first to speak up.

"May I husband?" Aphrodite asked and when she got the nod, she cleared her throat and began her best spokesmodel spiel, "The Eye of Omen will give Xander 20/10 vision in both eyes. It will allow him to see any wavelength in the electromagnetic spectrum he concentrates on. He'll be able to see in even pitch darkness. He'll have telescopic and microscopic vision. Whenever he wants he'll be able see his lovers or children no matter the distance of intervening obstacles. And there are a few more abilities, but I keep forgetting them."

"There is definitely more, like the ability to see magic and the scouter abilities," Hephaestus shrugged, "I had a few friends with excellent sight help me make it. One of them had a strange fixation on something called DBZ."

"Maou, I am almost scared to ask if it comes with video playback," Xander chuckled as he picked up the gem and examined it for a moment. Deciding to take a chance as he couldn't sense any ill intent or lies from the gods, he lifted his eye patch and manually opened his eye lid so that he could slip gem into place. With a slight pop he knew it was in place. There was a slight burning sensation around his left eye, but then it vanished as suddenly, "Whoa, back to the world of vertigo." He quickly sat down before he fell down, "Finally, I have depth perception again, no more walking into doors unless I am distracted by a hot girl."

Everyone laughed at the comment. Rias, Akeno, Asia, and Koneko were trying to remember if he walked into a door around them.

"Now that Alexander's first gift is a rousing success, let's get to measuring everyone," Hephaestus said as he produced a measuring tape out of thin air. "Darling, I assume you want to measure the lads."

"Well, I would like to complete the set," Aphrodite said as she produced a similar measuring tape, "Just gather a little empirical evidence."

…

... 

"I feel just a little violated," Xander said as he finally took a seat again, "I wonder if Anya and Faith are somehow related to her."

"A little violated?" Kiba didn't screech. He was far too manly to screech. No, his shout was just a little high pitched, "She measured the boys! What was the point in measuring the boys?"

"Probably just her having a bit of fun to be honest," Xander shrugged. Years of exposure to Anya and Faith had really numbed him to some things. The fact that Willow at times could be just as bad was neither here nor there. "She's the Goddess of Physical Beauty, Love, and Lust. Were you really expecting anything less than being mildly molested?"

"Well, Hephaestus-sama was at least more professional in how he took measurements," Rias' right eye was twitching in irritation. Said irritation was partially the result of the rather suggestive compliments of the God of the Forge made, partially the fact that Aphrodite had designs on her Xander, and partially that Xander seemed blasé about be molested by Aphrodite, "I just wish his commentary had remained professional."

"His wife is a bad influence," Koneko added in as he opened a back of Cheetos. It was still a wonder that she could eat them without getting the infamous orange fingertips.

"Well, it wasn't all bad. I learned I gained a centimeter in the bust and hips and lost it around the waist," Akeno was all smiles as she placed Xander's coffee mug in front of him, "In case you're wondering one hundred two."

"Akeno!" Rias barked out but just face palmed as her Queen literally giggled in response.

"One hundred two?" Asia blurted out. "I'll never catch up. Oh no, the sin of envy. Please God help me overcome my… Aaahhh!"

…

... 

"So what are you going to do with those, Husband?" Aphrodite asked as she gestured to the mangled Earrings sitting on the workbench in the forge. She was considered flighty by the standards of many Goddesses, but she hadn't remained married to Hephaestus without learning about his passions outside the carnal ones, "I've never known you to work with other God's Sacred Gears."

"I've never come across a broken Sacred Gear that still retained it's powers before either," Hephaestus was wearing a set of goggles that looked not unlike a mortal jeweler's loupe. "Well most of its power anyways. Azazel had theorized it was possible, but it hasn't happened until now. Normally what Alexander did would either sent the gear on to the next wielder or destroy them all together. But here the Earrings of Karna retain their powers of protection."

"So that's why you wanted them," Aphrodite chuckled as she released the nerd side of her husband was the one coming out, "It still doesn't explain what you are going to do?"

"Well, they seem to be bound to him, but we both know a Longinus wielder cannot possess two Sacred gears." The god of the forge stroked his chin as he thought. "I'll run some experiments in my spare time." He finally concluded before setting aside his goggles, "Right now, it's baby making time."

"Why did I agree to marry you again?" Aphrodite giggled at her husband's rather unromantic attempt to get her in bed. Not that it wouldn't work, she just liked teasing him.

"Perhaps because unlike the rest of them, I actually love you," Hephaestus smirked as he scooped up his wife. "That and you figured a god who can forge metal all day has to have stamina."

"Those were two very good reasons."

…

...

End notes:  
\- Hephaestus: Actor Kristofer Hivju  
\- Aphrodite: Model Iryna Ivanova

Eye of Omen  
-Bearer: Xander Lavelle Harris-Hyoudou  
-Manufacturer: Hephaestus with aid from Janus, Heimdall, and Aphrodite  
-Appearance: Star Ruby with four points currently, the size of a normal human eyeball.  
-Powers:  
\- Provides perfect 20/10 vision in both eyes  
\- Perfect sight in darkness whether mundane or magical  
\- Telescopic and Microscopic Vision up to 10,000 magnification  
\- Penetrating Vision up to 30 meters of material  
\- 360 degree vision  
\- Can be attuned to see any part electromagnetic spectrum  
\- Ultrasound Imaging  
\- Clairvoyance of Lovers/children  
\- Postcognition up to 100 hours  
\- Power Scouter  
\- See the normally invisible flow of Magic/Chakra/Chi  
\- The Eye can also create an illusion that makes it appear to be a normal eye 


	9. Friends, Familiars, and Fiances

Disclaimer: I do not own High School DxD, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Angel, Harry Potter, Naruto, and Rifts

Major AU: Do not expect this story to strictly follow canon for High School DxD.

Key: "Talking" 'Thought' [Sacred Gear] (Pailamancy or Telepathy) *Technique*

Friends, Familiars, and Fiancés

It had taken Xander a few days to fully acclimate to his new eye and the fact that it had augmented his natural one as well. Having true depth perception and peripheral vision was a literal dream come true. There were slight ups and downs as well. Far too often Xander focused on things much too far away or triggered the microscopic features. He really hadn't wanted to know what dust mites actually looked like. There was also the matter that the illusion that covered his eye wasn't perfect, while it looked like his natural eye there was just something off about it. The less said of how odd he looked without the illusion the better. So he was still stuck wearing the patch in most social situations, which robbed him of the benefits of two eyes… at least for a while.

"Whoa! Whoa!" Xander had just stepped into the ORC Clubroom and was shocked by what he saw. He had seen Rias completely nude a number of times. He even knew she was a natural redhead because of her landing strip. So seeing her reading over reports only wearing her glasses was new, but not too shocking. After all, the girl loved reading her novels naked in bed with him. Seeing Akeno delivering tea service completely in the buff was a first. The busty brunette was a flirt and a tease but had managed not to show off too much flesh. Yet Xander could see that she kept herself shaved bare. The image of her bending over with her backside to him was now indelibly imprinted in his brain. Then there was Asia, who Xander would admit combined innocence, cute, and sexy into a wonderful package. There had been a few times he'd seen her in her sleep chemise, but he'd never caught the former nun out completely nude. Though it was to be noted she must have taken grooming lessons from Rias as there was another landing strip on display as the girl was getting a new tome from the shelves. Against his wishes, Xander's eyes lit on Koneko next and damned if he didn't feel like a pedophile. The petite girl was developing rather nicely for her small frame. She really didn't look like a young girl, but more like a petite woman. Tearing his eyes away from that sight before his thoughts wandered to unsafe territory, Xander's final vision was Kiba. That was just the boner killer he needed at the moment. Xander wasn't so insecure in his masculinity to admit his friend was what many girls would consider hot, he just didn't swing that way. Though a small treacherous part of him did note that if Rias wanted to, she could easily open a porn studio where both of her male servants could be stars. "When did we become a club of naturalists?"

"What are you talking about, Xander-kun?" Rias looked up from her reports and despite the confusion in her voice she was smiling. She had been doing a lot of that whenever Xander was around. Something that Akeno had been playfully teasing her about.

"Uhm, the fact that all of you are naked… even Asia!" Xander replied trying his best to not sound judgmental. He really wasn't. He was just surprised. If they wanted to walk around the clubroom naked he'd go with it. It wasn't like he had anything to be embarrassed by, even before the Minotaur incident, "Don't get me wrong. I'm not opposed, I just would have liked to be told."

"Xander-kun, none of us are naked," Asia was the first to speak up, though in her nervousness her voice was very soft. Her sentiment was quickly echoed by the others who all confirmed they were still dressed.

"Then why can I see… oh shit!" Xander groaned as he realized just what was happening, especially as he could see everyone with both eyes while wearing his patch. "I have the distinct feeling a certain Goddess had a hand in this."

* * *

In Olympus, Aphrodite just sneezed right as she was about to bring her favorite cat-o'-nine-tails down on her least favorite god. "Damn it, I lost count. Now I have to start all over. One thousand lashes."

"But that was nine hundred twenty seven, Mistress," Ares squeaked out.

"Are you really going to argue with me, Worm?" Aphrodite sneered. "I could choose a much more delicate target than your ass."

"No Mistress, you should start over."

* * *

"At least it's you that has X-ray vision, instead of a total pervert," Koneko replied calmly as she reached for another cookie.

"So, you can see through our clothes?" Akeno asked as she barely suppressed a giggle. She then performed a slow spin making sure she was in Xander's line of vision, "How do I compare to Buchou?"

"Akeno!" Rias' eyebrow was twitching as her Queen started performing more poses. They weren't anything too immodest while she was still wearing her uniform, but given she was effectively naked to Xander it was a different ballgame.

"What?" Akeno asked with every bit of faux innocence she could muster, "I am just asking for an honest opinion."

'Well at least it's not the most dreaded question any woman could ask of the men in her life,' Xander sighed. He'd once made the mistake of answering that question honestly. He'd been a walking bruise for a week because Buffy couldn't accept the fact that her butt was practically non-existent at that point. Despite the pain he suffered it was interesting to find out that Buffy ascribed to the idea that a girl should have back.

* * *

"Is there a reason that I am getting glares from everyone here except you two?" Xander was giving the Perverted Duo the 'Xander Harris Watcher Glare' {patent pending}. All day he'd be on the receiving end of far too many hateful stares from both genders, especially the anti-perverts of the Kendo Club. The anomalies were the Student Council, the ORC, and the Pervert Duo.

"Oh, there is just a bunch of rumors going around that you are blackmailing the girls of the ORC into sexual acts.," Matsuda chuckled darkly as he pushed up his glasses, "As you can see, not many people here are happy with that."

"What?" Xander blurted out. Slumping back in his desk chair, he let out a long frustrated sigh, "I actually miss the days when I was considered a non-threat to any guys wanting to hit on my friends. Hell, one guy even thought I was gay."

"Oh, there is the rumor that you and Kiba are gay for each other," Motohama piped in, "That one was our favorite rumor to spread. The chicks seemed to just eat it up."

"Well, if I was, I could do worse, but neither of us is gay," Xander shook his head with a slight bit of mirth. Years ago he would have leapt to defend his heterosexuality, but he was more comfortable in his skin, "Pretty sure even if Kiba was, I am not his type. So, you two have been spreading rumors about me? Not afraid I might decide to retaliate?"

"You have nothing on either of us that anyone would believe," Matsuda replied, "We're well known perverts who love the female form. We're not afraid to admit that openly. Everyone knows that we peep and watch porn. What could you possibly use as ammunition against us?"

"Aika Kiryuu." Xander replied with a feral grin as he watched the two turn green. "I will get her to spread the rumor of our sizes, except I will pay her ten thousand yen to shave off a few centimeters."

"You wouldn't dare," Matsuda replied with far more confidence than he had, "You'd be a laughing stock as well."

"Hardly," Aika had chosen exactly that moment to approach her classmates. The bespectacled brunette shared one of the same titles as Matsuda, being known as Hentai Glasses in some circles. "Xander doesn't have anything to worry about if I decide to help him with this."

"Why would anyone even believe you?" Motohama sneered. "We'd just deny you'd ever see us naked."

"Oh that's simple," Aika giggled, "Just like Matsuda here can calculate a girl's three sizes with a glance, I can do the same for a guy's equipment. Motohama, you are 16 cm long when hard, 2 cm in diameter, and your balls are 2.5 cm each. You can last fifteen minutes with a refractory time of roughly half an hour. Matsuda, you are 15 cm long when hard, 2.2 cm in diameter, and your balls are 3 cm each. You can last thirteen minutes with a twenty five minute refractory period."

"HER SCOUTING LEVEL IS OVER 9000!" Both perverts cried out in horror.

* * *

"So what is this I hear about you and Yuuto-san?" A familiar female voice asked as the owner sat down on Xander's left side at lunch.

Xander turned his head to face the inquisitive student and if his mouth had been full he probably would have performed a spit-take right then. At first glance a casual observer would have thought it was Akeno given the hair and eye color, but there were a number of differences that would clue a more observant person. Akeno wore her hair up in an elegant ponytail that still hung to her ankle. Raynare favored having her down and it only came to her ass. Akeno was extremely curvaceous making even gravure models look under endowed. Raynare wasn't quite as endowed, having a more athletic frame. Then there were the facial differences, the different cheekbones, nose and chin that made them unique from each other.

"A couple of jealous idiots decided to spread some rumors," Xander shrugged.

"So it isn't true? That's a shame. It would be insanely hot to watch." Raynare chuckled as she opened her bento revealing the lunch that Grayfia had packed for her.

"You're not the only one to tell me that, Muryama and Katase both said the same thing," Xander sighed heavily, "At least the other rumors are being ignored now. Koneko had a very violent reaction to someone offering to protect her from my 'blackmail' attempts."

"Yeah, I heard that one, too." Raynare chuckled before popping a strawberry filled rice ball in her mouth. Savoring the treat she chewed slowly.

"Of course you did," Xander shook his head as he turned back to his lunch which Rias and Asia had made for him. While he couldn't exactly take rare beef in his bento, they still loaded him down with a lot of meat considering his new carnivore tendencies. "So you finally caught up with the other third years?"

"Yeah, that was a pain," Raynare muttered, "It's been almost hundred years since I did anything resembling school work and even that was elementary in America during the Depression."

"If you are trying to shock me with your age, you are forgetting I was engaged to a woman who was born before Leif Erikson found a new continent," Xander chuckled before he tried some of Asia's orange beef. 'Maou, between Rias, Akeno, Asia, and Mom's cooking I might just end up gaining a spare tire again.'

"Oh, I know. It's nice to talk to a guy who isn't freaked out that I am reaching fourteen hundred years old," Raynare chuckled, "So I hear you have been directing everyone's training, even the Princess."

"Well, I was a Watcher for three years, so it's not like it's new territory," Xander chuckled a bit. Akeno had recently asked for some refresher courses on her taijutsu and Rias had joined those. Both girls were far too quick to study of Krav Maga and merging it with their Tai Chi. "Are you interested in training?"

"Might as well, I've been through Grigori boot camp, but that's it." Raynare sighed, "I was relegated to the Seduction Corps because of my fall."

"Let me, guess you fell in love with a human?" Xander asked seeing her flinch he shook his head, "Seems odd that you'd fall because of love."

"It wasn't the love or even the sex," Raynare corrected the misconception, "It's because I… started holding him to be more important than Father."

"Oh…" Xander wasn't quite sure what to say to that.

"It started out as just a game we played alone. I'd call him Master, he'd punish me for some little mistake, and then the sex…" Raynare trailed off as she was reminiscing. Shaking herself out of the pleasant memory she continued, "Well, it evolved from there until I was calling him Master all the time and following all of his orders. Father can forgive a lot, but his jealous side still comes out when it comes to that kind of thing. It wasn't long after I fell that my lover died and I was left with nothing." Raynare's voice sounded so hollow and dead as she finished her tale.

"Oh Maou!" Xander blurted out, "Why did you tell me all that? Am I the designated counselor or something?"

Raynare looked devastated for a moment, before she just broke out laughing. "I-I'm sorry. I just had to prank you." She continued to laugh for a few minutes before calming down, "Oh, I haven't pulled a fun prank like that in years."

Xander's eyebrow twitched as the raven haired Fallen Angel laughed. 'Note to Self: prank Raynare until she begs for mercy.' Deciding to ignore the antics of the girl he continued eating his lunch.

"Oh don't be like that, Xander-kun, I wasn't exactly lying," Raynare pleaded as she saw the annoyed look on his face, "The reason he died is because I found out he had been using me all along. It didn't come out until I had fallen and he was angry that his experiment failed." She paused for a moment to take a sip of her soda, "It's kinda funny is retrospect. Uncle Zazz warned me about him, but since he was a Fallen and I was still in Grace I just ignored the warnings."

"And you're tell me all this…why?" Xander asked. 'Is she trying to warn me off of someone?'

"Because I was a fan of the show and know more about your life than a really should as a stranger," Raynare shrugged as she went back to her lunch, "I figured to be a good friend I should tell you something my real friends would know. That's all."

'She's been honest this whole time, but I think that's the first time she hasn't had even a slight hidden agenda,' Xander mused as he continued to mull over her words, "Well… I am not in the habit of turning down a chance to make friends."

"Really? Yes!" Raynare nearly shouted in glee as she hugged Xander from the side, "Sorry, I just always wanted to be one of Xander's Girls. I promise I will be the best big sister ever."

"I'm sure you will be." Xander chuckled at the girl's antics. Then his face paled considerably as her words sunk in, "Wait! What?"

* * *

"You can't be serious, Buchou-chan!" Xander was pinching the bridge of his nose as he processed just what his Mistress told him. 'It never rains, but it pours.' He couldn't help the uncharitable thought. Since Asia had moved in his new parents seemed to adore the very ground she walked on. Rias was almost literally on the same level of worship from his parents. The difference was they treated Asia as a favored daughter, and Rias as a daughter-in-law. Why they did that he hadn't one clue. Now Raynare would be moving in as a cousin that they were adopting. "Do you know how hard it is to get time to take care of things with you and Asia there? Not that I don't love having you both living with me."

"I am rather aware," Rias sighed as she thought of the times she had to have privacy for similar reasons. She also wasn't too happy with Raynare moving into the Hyoudou household, however it was under the orders of all four Satans, "We'll just have to make do."

"Couldn't we move her into your apartment?" Xander asked hopefully.

"I actually stayed with Akeno at the shrine," Rias admitted sheepishly, "Putting those two in the same house together would be a bad idea."

"What kind of bad idea?"

"Property Destruction and Mutilation are likely," Rias responded, "Akeno has some history with the Fallen."

"Move her in with Kiba?"

"Kiba lives in a singles unit as does Koneko."

"I hope my parents are being paid at least some rent for all this," Xander sighed as he was forced to relent, "Well as long as she behaves herself and refrains from trying to sleep with me, I will manage."

"She will not be allowed in our bed!" Rias' eyes flashed in anger at the possibility.

* * *

Xander Harris stepped out of the summoning circle to find himself on the back porch of a family home. In the yard he could see a man struggling to assemble a playground set and cursing up a storm about useless instructions. 'This is an emergency construction project?' he briefly thought to himself. It was then that he noticed that his summoner was an older Japanese woman who could have been any age from fifty to hundred.

"You are the Gremory Devil skilled in construction?" the woman asked doubtfully.

"Yes, that's me." Xander said as he bowed in greeting, "I am Xander Hyoudou. Please take care of me."

"Ahhhh, you have manners," the woman smiled widely, "I am Biwako and that is my son Asuma. Please forgive the crass language."

"Asuma-san hasn't said anything I have heard before," Xander chuckled, "What seems to be the issue?"

"My son is a member of the JSDF and he is not home often, Xander-san," Biwako started to explain, "His little girl Mirai is turning five next week and wants a playground set. My son had planned to spend the week building it, but his leave is being cancelled and he has to return tomorrow night."

"Say no more, Biwako-san," Xander said with a smile, "I'll have it ready in a few hours." Stepping off the porch he headed out to help the floundering man.

* * *

"And this is Xanrai!" Asia presented the small blue sprite dragon to Xander, cradling him like a baby as she did so. "Xanrai, this is your Uncle Xander."

"You are just adorable," Xander reached out to stroke under the little dragon's chin.

"Wait, Xander-kun, Sprite Dragons are very… territorial?" Akeno's warning tone changed quickly to one of of astonishment.

Everyone stared in amazement as Xanrai was cooing as Xander stroked under his chin. The little Sprite Dragon had electrocuted the Familiar Master twice when he got too close to Asia. Kiba had not gotten out of being shocked either. It was well known that young Sprite Dragons were misandrist, hating most males no matter the species. So the fact that Xander was not on the floor twitching from being electrocuted was a practical miracle. That Xanrai was cooing while a male was touching him was just unheard of. It was even more shocking as Xander began playing with Xanrai, daring the little dragon to bite his fingers. The dragon played along, snapping at the fingertips, but once catching them there was no real force in the nip.

"H-how are you doing that?" Rias stuttered out, "Young Sprite Dragons loath men and won't allow one to come near them."

"The Hatchling knows who the Alpha is between the two of us." Xander said confidently as he palmed Xanrai's head and began gently moving it around which caused the little dragon to let a playful growl that sounded nothing like the one he let when other males came near Asia, "Don't you Xanrai? You're a smart hatchling!"

* * *

Xander was performing one of his favorite duties. After a week of avoiding sharing a bath with him, Rias was back to allowing him to wash her hair. 'It's really sad that the highlight of my day is washing the hair of a girl who is someone else's fiancé.' Shaking off the bit of melancholy that idea brought, Xander concentrated on continuing to bathe his Mistress. 'Though it is nice I can be this close to her.'

"Oooohhh Maou! I missed this so much," Rias moaned out in post orgasmic bliss. After her last meeting with her family she had been avoiding intimate contact with Xander. There were a number of reasons, but the worst was that the Gremory family would not help her break the contract with Riser. As much as her brother wanted to help, he couldn't as there was nothing illegal in the contract. So she started to try to break up with Xander, even going so far as to not sleep in his bed for the last week. Unfortunately each day it went on she was increasingly angry with everyone but Xander. It had taken actually snapping at Asia for her to realize what was going on. 'I was such a bitch and all Asia told me to do was to start spending time with Xander.'

"I did as well, Buchou-chan," Xander smiled as he began rinsing her hair, "I have no idea what I did to anger you, but I am sorry."

'Great, now I feel like a heel!' Rias hung her head in shame as that thought rattled around in her head. "You didn't do anything to upset me, Xander-kun. None of you have." Rias' voice came out as barely a whisper but she knew Xander heard her earlier. His hearing was nearly as good as Koneko's, the Rook had a slight edge but not by much. "Riser is putting more pressure on my family and he's gathered some political backing from a few prominent families. Only the Sitri, Bael, and Astaroth families are backing my side of this. My brother would back me, but he's The Lucifer and can't take sides."

"Hmmm, and you were trying to distance yourself from me, hoping that Riser will not see me as a threat to the marriage," Xander nodded as he noted some of the names mentioned. 'This is really tearing her apart.' "My offer to kill him is still open. You know I wouldn't even lose any sleep over it."

'That's an understatement.' Rias nearly shuddered. The night after he'd killed Caleb, Xander hadn't so much tossed in his sleep one bit. "Why wouldn't you lose sleep? Aside from his philandering, Riser is not a monster. He might not like humans much, but he hunts Strays that prey on them. Wouldn't that make him one of the White Hats in your book?"

"Nope." Xander shook his head before resting his chin on her shoulder, "He's forcing one of my girls to marry him and is planning to take three others as mistresses. Really, the only thing staying my hand is you."

"There are a few reasons for that, Xander-kun," Rias reached up and cupped his cheek reveling in the intimate contact even as she went to explain everything, "The Phenex Family is one of the original 72 Pillars. Just killing one of them would paint a target on your back for that alone." She took a deep breath, "That's without factoring in how insanely hard they are to kill. Since the ceasefire there hasn't been a single Phenex to die of violence. Like the bird of legend they have the power of regeneration from their flames. If you actually managed to kill Riser you would be considered too valuable to Hell to be killed and conversely to dangerous allow any freedom. They'd imprison you. It wouldn't look like one, but that is what it would be. You'd be trained relentlessly and brainwashed to be one of Hell's ultimate weapons." Rias was barely keeping the tears in check, "You don't deserve that kind of life."

"I'd put up with it for any of my girls," Xander whispered.

"I know, but allow me to be selfish and not let you be taken away from me," Rias pleaded, "Besides, there is a way I could escape the marriage. I'd just have to get pregnant." She paused for a moment to gather a bit of courage and to adopt a sinfully seductive tone. "You could help me that way."

'Oh Sweet Merciful Twinkie give me strength!' Xander prayed as he tried to his best to think unsexy thoughts. Unfortunately, he had learned that was impossible around any of the girls of the ORC, even Raynare who he really wasn't attracted to in that way. Not so little Xander spent a lot of time at half mast and currently he at definitive full mast. "You don't know how tempting that is, but neither of us is really ready for a child Rias." He breathed out, fully aware that someone was shredding his man card as he spoke, "And do you really want to have a child just out of desperation to escape Riser?"

"No… no I wouldn't." Rias admitted softly. She stared at the water's surface for a while before she spoke again, "But I do want to love the father of my children…"

"Something that is pretty much impossible with Riser," Xander concluded for her. "Rias, I swear I will get you out of marrying him… and I am sure the rest of the ORC feels the same."

"…Thank you, Xander-kun." Rias wasn't quite sure if the tears on her tears were from relief or rejection.

* * *

'I want Xander to rip his head off.' This thought was coming from virtually every member of the ORC at once. Only Xander and Asia weren't having that thought as they witnessed the scene that was happening. Asia because she was far too nice and Xander because he was wondering how someone could have an ego more massive than Zaphod Beeblebrox's.

Riser Phenex had made an appearance in the ORC Clubroom and was currently sitting beside Rias Gremory despite the fact that the redhead had motioned to the other couch when she offered him a seat. As if that was not enough he had scooted close enough he had to wrap his arm around her shoulder so as not to keep elbowing her. His right hand was playing with her hair as if he was her intimate lover. His left was holding a cup of tea that Akeno had served him a few moments prior.

"Ah, the tea that Rias' Queen serves is excellent, as always." Riser extended a genuine compliment to the young woman. He might be a douche, but he appreciated talent of all sorts. "Riser hopes that you would teach Riser's Maid Pawns how you make it."

"You are most kind, Riser-dono," Akeno hid all of her hostility toward Riser under the Nadeshiko Yamato façade. "I would be happy to share my knowledge with Burent and Marion."

"Riser thanks you," the blonde dandy took another sip of tea before setting it down, "Now Rias-chan, why don't you learn from the example of your Queen and just submit to the inevitable?"

"Riser-san, we are here to negotiate the dissolution of the marriage contract," Rias was barely keeping her composure. She wanted nothing more to smack Riser for taking liberties with her. 'Xander's the only man I let play with my hair!'

Xander for his part was going through every single last anger management exercise he knew of. From Riser's first appearance where he complained about the filthy air of the human world, Xander had to restrain himself from teaching Devil about personal pronouns by beating him with a dictionary. His condescending attitude to nearly everyone was not helping matters either. 'Just let Rias handle this. My version of Diplomacy will not help matters here.'

"And why would Riser agree to dissolve the contract?" Riser asked in a haughty tone as he put his cup down. "There is nothing for Riser to gain by not marrying Rias Gremory."

"Maybe the continued use of your endoskeleton," Xander muttered under his breath.

Koneko barely heard the whispered threat and allowed a small smile to reach her face. 'That's a good one Xander-sempai.'

"I can't imagine what you think you will gain from marrying me, Riser-san," Rias soldiered through her growing discomfort. While she didn't lash out anyone looking at her could tell she was disgusted just having Riser near her. "You would not be Head of the House of Gremory. You won't gain any of my affections. In fact I would go so far as to choose not to bed you. The child required by the contract would have to be produced by artificial insemination."

"Riser will not be denied his rights as husband," Riser's voice now took on a slight tinge of anger. "You will share your body with Riser in time." As he spoke he reached with his other hand and attempted to stroke along the backside of Rias' thigh.

"You will be denied because I will not marry you, Riser-san," Rias had deftly avoided allowing Riser the chance to grope her by standing up, "Now end this farce of a contract and go find a willing wife."

"Riser is sure you will be willing," Riser rose to his feet and cupped Rias' chin rather forcefully. Gone was his affable yet arrogant demeanor. "In fact Riser guarantees it. If you do not willingly submit to Riser the consequences will be dire." As he spoke great wings of fire erupted from his back. "Riser will have no choice but to burn your servants with Phenex Fire."

It wasn't even a second later that Riser's back was coated with flame suppressant foam from a fire extinguisher in Xander's hands. "Cool your jets, KFC reject, before I decide the trophy case needs another addition." At this Xander motioned to the case in question. Inside was the bronzed skull and spine from Ear/Caleb with a small plaque that proclaimed: First idiot to try to hurt Xander's Girls.

"You have an impertinent servant, Rias. Something Riser will have to correct for you," Riser released Rias and turned to face Xander, glaring at the man with fury in his eyes and all over his face. "Riser would like to know your name before you die."

"Alright, when I am facing something that can kill me, I'll let you know," Xander smirked as he readied the fire extinguisher for another shot.

"ENOUGH!" The ORC was flooded with the feeling of incredible yet carefully restrained power as a Gremory sigil appeared on the floor. A moment later a silver haired maid materialized and despite uniform it was quite clear she was a being of immense power in every sense of the word, "Lord Sirzechs has expressed the desire that this meeting be peaceful. I will not allow you to continue to threaten the Gremory Peerage, Lord Riser. As for you, I commend you for defending your friends and Master, but I must ask you to stand down Harris-sama." While the woman had addressed Riser in a stern commanding nature, she had been kinder to Xander as if she was just politely asking him to behave. "I have been authorized to use whatever methods I deem necessary to maintain the peace."

"Well, when told something so foreboding by someone who is said to be the strongest Queen, even Riser must capitulate," Riser entire demeanor reverted back to what he considered his normal charming self, but there was clear indication that he was fearful of the silver haired maid.

"Well, if the KFC reject is going to behave, I will too," Xander visibly relaxed as he tucked the fire extinguisher away again. Turning to Rias he gave an apology bow, "I am sorry, Buchou-chan, I was unable to follow your order not to start anything."

"Oh don't be silly, Xander-kun, you followed it perfectly," Rias favored Xander with a genuine smile, "I will reward you suitably tonight." She then turned to the maid "It is always nice to see you Grayfia-nee and I am glad that you interfered before there was injury or Maou forbid a fatality."

"A pleasure as always, Rias-sama." Grayfia curtsied to Rias before she continued, "I am happy I could help prevent an incident, especially as death was likely."

"Perhaps it is best that you stepped in before Riser could act against the Pawn." Riser smirked as he sat back down and picked up his cup of tea. "It would be bad form for Riser to kill one of Rias' pawns before we marry."

Grayfia went to respond, but thought better of it. 'What the ponce doesn't know will hurt him and help Rias.' Instead she simply rolled her eyes where only Rias and the ORC could see the response. "Lord Sirzechs has suggested that if your argument cannot be resolved peacefully that a Rating Game could be used as the final arbiter."

"A rating game?" Rias' eyes widened in shock that this option was even available. She didn't have a full peerage nor was she eighteen, so she wasn't supposed to be allowed in rating games.

"Yes, Lord Sirzechs declared that you should be allowed to compete in a rating game in this case," Grayfia supplied in her usual stoicism. "The other Satans and the Phenex Family agreed that this was a viable method. The terms are that should Rias win the Rating Game that Riser will retract his demands for an immediate marriage. If Riser should win, the wedding will be within one week of the Rating Game."

"Ah, it is a wise decision by the Four Satans. Riser agrees to this proposal," Riser declared with a wide smile on his face.

"I would much prefer that Riser be forced to agree to rescind the contract," Rias decided to press for what she really wanted, not just a delay in the nuptials.

Grayfia let out a long sigh, "The Phenex Family decreed that if you want to cancel the contract that if you should lose the male members of your peerage would be purged of their Evil Pieces and executed as threats to your fidelity. Thus Lord Sirzech decreed that wager to be impossible."

Rias was wide eyed in shock as she saw Riser's smile turn sinister. 'He knew about all this, the bastard!' Immediately she had visions of the many ways that she would like to kill Riser, but she set them aside. "I cannot risk them in that manner, I will accept the terms that Lord Sirzechs declared."


	10. Gremory vs Phenex chapter 1

Xander DxD 010

**Disclaimer**: I do not own High School DxD, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Angel, Harry Potter, Naruto, and Rifts

**Major AU**: Do not expect this story to strictly follow canon for High School DxD.

**Key**: "Talking" 'Thought' [Sacred Gear] (Pailamancy or Telepathy) *Technique*

**Author Note:** I am actually quite pleased the previous chapter managed to anger quite a few of you. It's what I intended. Like Rias many of you are operating with limited information and some of it isn't accurate. That was intentional as there is no such thing as knowing everything going on. This chapter will drop some bombs that seem to contradict what I have written so far, but the truth of the matter is that many layers of deception have been happening. This chapter will clear some of that up and so will the next one.

**Gremory vs Phenex Chapter One**

"Three days?" Zeoticus Gremory asked incredulously as he heard Grayfia's report. He rose from his chair and began pacing about his study in order to remove the temptation of destroying a great deal of his daily paperwork. "Rias can't possibly be ready for a Rating Game in only three days! I am beginning to regret sparing that little brats life when he stole that thrice damned contract! I should have let you kill him, Darling."

"Well, at least you admit you were wrong now," Venelana Gremory offered her husband a sad smile as he watched him pace. "Unfortunately, it is much too late to do so now. I am curious about one thing, was it the whole Phenex Family who wanted those despicable terms that you had to refuse, Sirzechs?"

"No, it was only Lord Phenex himself as well as Rudolphus and Riser at the meeting," Sirzechs sighed heavily as he recalled the negotiations the Four Satans were forced to arbitrate. The two families were forced to be separated by barriers and concealment wards so they couldn't see or hear each other. It was necessary as his mother and father had physically assaulted Riser more than once over his transgressions. "I don't see Aunt Ramona supporting such a heinous condition."

"That is fortunate news." Grayfia spoke up, "Informing Xander-sama that it was only those three who threatened his friends will forestall the loss of an entire Pillar."

"What can we do to help Rias?" Zeoticus wasn't going to touch the comment that his Daughter's pawn could possibly eliminate an entire Family on his own. He knew his son could pull the feat off, but doubted a new minted Devil could, no matter how exceptional he was as a human.

"You could let her know you are actually on her side, just restrained by that contract." Sirzechs suggested. "You could also cheer for them in the Rating Game."

"I can do the second, but telling her the first is pointless," Zeoticus hung his head in defeat. "I'm bound by the contract to support the upcoming marriage even if I hate the groom.

"Why did you ever craft such a contract?" Venelana finally asked the question that she had been puzzling over since Riser had somehow procured it from their vaults.

"Simple, I want Rias to marry for love," Zeoticus sighed heavily, "I crafted it so she would give it to her chosen husband and I'd be compelled to ignore my over protective father impulses. Not to mention, she can't be bound to another contract."

* * *

Shop was normally one of Xander's favorite classes. Woodworking had always been calming even when he was whittling stakes for a nest raid. Today he was on edge and it wasn't due to the fact that there was only fifty six hours until the Rating Game to determine how soon Rias married the KFC reject. Honestly that would have been enough, but he had a different reason to be on edge. That reason was serving as a substitute teacher at the moment.

"How did you get in as substitute sensei?" Xander was polite as he posed the question. "Better yet, isn't this a little bit below you?"

"Nah, I love teaching children about building and smithing," Hephaestus smiled widely, "And are you going to claim I'm not qualified?"

"No, I couldn't even imagine making that claim, Sensei," Xander chuckled as he shook his head, "I am just wondering what you are doing here and don't even try to fib. I'm very good at picking up that kind of thing."

Hephaestus laughed heartily, "That's why I like you, Xander. You're not intimidated by the likes of us." The god of smiths brought out a bar of golden metal and placed it on the workbench, "I ran some test on the Sacred Gear you managed to break. Somehow some of it's power remained, even when I smelted it down into this bar of Adamantine."

"I take it that is a rarity." Xander mused as he ran his fingers over the surface of the small bar of metal. 'Whoa. It feels like it's connected to me.'

"Beyond a rarity." Hephaestus admitted, "It's literally a first as far as Sacred Gears go. I am unsure if it's due to you or the history of the Earrings themselves that led to this. Whatever the cause is, the power is still linked to you. So I'd like to forge something out of this for you. The question is what."

Xander looked at the bar of metal, seeing that it was three inches wide and eight wide. In his mind he saw the Gremory Emblem stamped on the surface. His infamous lopsided grin came to his face. "I have a thought, but it might not be possible…"

* * *

The entire ORC was gathered in the Clubroom doing their best to calm their nerves. Each of them was dressed in their normal battle attire. Akeno was in the traditional garb of a miko, though she had a few hidden weapons under the voluminous clothing. Kiba was wearing a pair of black slacks and white shirt over which he wore a tactical vest as well as knee and elbow pads. Asia was in her nun's habit and was carrying a satchel in which she had a few concussion grenades among other things. Koneko was wearing her normal gym clothing with knee and elbow pads, as well as kitten paw theme MMA gloves. Raynare stood proudly in her rather risqué fallen angel garb. Rias was in her school uniform, but had added knee and elbow pads. Finally, Xander himself was black pants and shirt with a tactical vest and pads.

"Uhm, I have something I want each of you to wear out there," Xander said as he started handing out the long strips of silk he had been carrying. They were a little over three feet long and just over three inches wide. Centered on the band was a golden metal plate that was eight inches long, three inches wide and an eighth of inch thick. Stamped in the middle of each metal plate was the Gremory Sigil and that was filled in by ruby dust. "Hephaestus and I made Hitai-ate out of the Earrings of Karna. They'll provide extra protection while we wear them."

"How much protection are we talking about?" Raynare took the first one and examined it a moment, before she tied it around her waist like a belt. The plain white silk instantly became the same black at the rest of her outfit.

"We're unsure, but it won't be as much as Caleb enjoyed. Hephaestus claimed it would still be considerable." Xander replied as the others began taking them. Kiba took one, the silk become gray as he tied it around his left thigh. Koneko's remained white as she wore it like a headband. Akeno's become the same orange as her usual hair ribbon and that was the way she decided to wear it. Asia's matched her habit as she wore it loosely around her neck. Rias' became the same crimson as her hair as she tied it around her right bicep. Xander donned the last one wearing it as a headband and it becoming the same crimson as Rias'. "I hope everyone likes them."

"Like It? I for one love it, Xander-kun," Rias gushed before she hugged him tight and kissed his cheek, "Thank you so much."

"It's cool." Koneko said as she admired hers in her compact.

"I really like it, Xander-kun." Asia smiled wide as she fidgeted with it, "They're just like in that Manga."

"It is sweet of you to think of the rest of, Xander-kun." Akeno hugged Xander from the back before she whispered in his ear, "I'll have to think of a special thank you later."

"Thank you, Xander-kun," Kiba nodded to the man.

"As sweet as all this is, I am afraid it is time to go," Raynare interrupted the love fest and gestured to the glowing magical circle that had just appeared.

* * *

"What is the meaning of this?" Lord Reginald Phenex fumed as he saw the screens displaying the two peerages preparing for transport. Reginald bore a striking resemblance to his son Riser, from the hairstyle to mode of dress. His face was more mature and he had a goatee but otherwise they could have been identical. "That Fallen Angel is not part of the Gremory Peerage. Reginald wants her removed immediately."

"As Rias' Bishop is unable to participate in the battle, the Fallen Angel Raynare is serving as a substitute." Sirzechs kept calm and refrained from his first impulse. Over the last decade Reginald had started becoming a true pain in the ass for the Four Maous. "I am actually quite interested in how she will fare."

"Well, Reginald couldn't be less interested. She's not a Devil and has no place in these proceedings." Reginald snarled, "She'll be removed or Reginald will pull Riser out of this."

"If you do that, it will be a forfeit on your part," Grayfia spoke up, her tone ice cold as spoke to the Lord Phenex, "Rias-sama made the proper inquiries and I approved the roster change two days ago. I even forwarded it to you so you could make an appeal. You did not respond, so Raynare-chan will be serving House Gremory as a Bishop in this match."

"Zeoticus, order your wayward daughter to withdraw the Fallen." Reginald snarled as he saw one avenue closed to him.

"As my daughter's pawn would say: Blow it out your ass, KFC reject." Zeoticus responded with a smile on his face. "And don't think of appealing to my wife, she'd likely just test your regeneration prowess."

"I still might," Venelana replied as she studied her nails, "Imagine the nerve of thinking ordering the head of another family around."

"Husband, please calm down, you are causing a scene," Lady Ramona Phenex tried to placate her husband even as she gave an apologetic look to the rest. "The match will be starting soon and you know how you love to watch Riser play. It is also Ravel's debut and I for one want to see my little girl in action."

"That's true," Reginald visibly calmed as he turned his full attention back to the screens. "The presence of the Fallen bitch won't make a difference. Riser will crush the Gremory peerage."

* * *

'Did the circle fail?' Xander was glancing around the ORC Clubroom with some concern. It wasn't until he inhaled that he noticed anything strange. 'There are no residual smells. They created a replica.' "Never mind, I was holding the idiot ball for a moment."

"Just a moment?" Koneko quipped with just a hint of a smile on her face.

"No, even I was fooled for a few moments," Rias spoke up in defense of Xander's confusion, "It wasn't until I tried to feel the wards that I was sure."

"It seems they copied everything physical, but nothing else." Akeno observed as she glanced around, "And they were sweet enough to copy the proof that Xander cares about me." The playful tease was there as she gestured to the trophy case with the bronzed skull and spine.

(Attention: The Gremory vs Phenex Rating Game will begin in twenty minutes. The battleground is a reproduction of the Kouh Academy in Japan. Home Territory for the Gremory Peerage is the Old School Building. Home Territory for the Phenex Peerage is the Administration Wing of the main Academy. Everything of a purely physical nature that existed in Kouh Academy will exist here with the exception of animal life.) The voice of Grayfia Lucifuge echoed in the minds of both peerages. (I am Grayfia Lucifuge and I will be the Arbiter for this match. My decisions will be considered final. Any further appeals will be considered a personal challenge.)

"Well, that last bit almost made me have to change my thong," Raynare admitted as she displayed a massive sweat drop.

(Rias-chan, I want you to know I am cheering for you. Beat that spoiled brat. Show everyone that you are your mother's daughter.) Zeoticus' voice was heard by the Gremory Peerage. (Xander-san my son's Queen believes in you. Prove her right.)

"Tou-san?" Rias was shocked. Every since Riser had pressed for the contract, her father had been supporting the marriage verbally and politically. So much so that Rias had become rather rebellious and did the opposite of what he said in many regards. 'Is he trying to make me want to lose? No, he'd never want to bring any dishonor to Kaa-san.' Shaking her head out of her thoughts she looked to the rest of her Peerage. "Akeno-chan, Koneko-chan, and Kiba-kun start laying traps around the School House and in the wooded area. Riser will likely send some pawns through there in a sneak attack."

"On it." Akeno said as she started leading the squad out the door. "Come on my little Kohai, let's prepare a warm reception for the little birds."

"Well, this will be fun." Kiba chuckled as he followed the miko out, "I want to try out some of Xander-kun's claymores."

"I almost feel sorry for them," Koneko deadpanned as she joined the others.

"Raynare-san, help Asia-chan create a stable barrier around the building. Nothing you have to maintain, just something that will slow them down in case they get past the traps," Rias gave out the next set of orders with little pause. She hadn't much time to create any sort of plan, but had consulted Sona on some ideas. "If you're attacked before you finish, I want you both to retreat immediately. Asia is too precious as a healer to risk in a confrontation at the moment."

"Understood, Buchou." Raynare nodded, "Let's go, imouto, we have defenses to build."

"I knew I shouldn't have shown you 13th Warrior." Asia giggled, "We'll be back soon, Rias-nee. Xander-kun… good luck."

"Thank you, Asia-chan." Xander flashed his lopsided grin as he watched the pair leave. Once they were out the door he turned to Rias. "I know what you're thinking. I didn't plant all that much around the school. I haven't had much time. There is a nice Sniper's nest, but that's about it."

"As much as that would help, I need you in direct combat more than I need you as a sniper," Rias frowned as she considered her options. 'That nest would give us a huge advantage, but the only one who could really use it is Xander.' She sat down on the couch and motioned for Xander to sit beside her, "Put your head in my lap and just relax for a few minutes."

"My head in your lap and relax? Choose one." Xander joked even as he tried to do just what Rias told him. He sat down and then laid his torso down so that his head was indeed resting on Rias' thighs. 'Does she understand what she does to me?' No matter how much he fought it, Xander was immensely attracted to Rias physically and emotionally. The same was true of Akeno, Asia, and Koneko, but not quite to the same extent as the redhead.

"Do I make you that nervous, Xander-kun?" Rias' tone was more than a little teasing as she ran her hands through his hair. 'I might as well get some enjoyment out of this. Maou forbid we lose, Riser will pressure me into sending Xander away.'

"No… you don't make me nervous at all, Bucho-chan," Xander tried his best to physically relax. It could have been classified as success if one only considered the voluntary muscles. Unfortunately two different organs were responding to being so close. His heart was racing and not-so-little Xander was at half-mast. 'Down boy, she does not need anything like that now. Besides, we have a fight to win.'

"I see." Rias smirked as she was able to read between the lines well. Xander had a bad habit of wearing his heart on his sleeve even when he tried to hide it. "Well, that's good. Now, I am removing a block I placed on Issei when he was reincarnated. His body was impressive, but it wasn't strong enough to handle all the power that came with absorbing eight pawns. You are more than strong enough for me to release all of it."

"Wait. You mean I have even more Devil Power than I've been using?" Xander's eyes opened wide as he considered the possibility. He wasn't in the league of Asia or Akeno, but he had been well ahead of Koneko and Kiba.

"Only a little bit more as your reserves are impressive," Rias explained with more than a hint of pride in her voice, "This will unlock more of your physical power and it will help you control your magic more easily. The change won't be as drastic for you as it would have been for Issei. Just try to relax I will be releasing it… now!"

* * *

In the Headmaster's office, Riser is taking a moment to enjoy the very comfortable chair with the massage feature as his peerage is checking over their weapons. "Riser likes this massaging chair, Mihae make a note of the brand and model, each of you will receive one for Maoumas."

"You are most generous, Riser-sama." The kind hearted bishop said as she retrieved a notepad from somewhere in her kimono. Mihae dutifully jotted down the information and why.

"Burent, Miriam, and Shuriya, You will circle through this wooded area and attempt to infiltrate the Old School House, once you do promote yourselves to Queen and defeat anyone there," Riser commanded as he indicated the areas he meant on the map. "Rias is intelligent, but she has no experience in Rating Games or in true combat. So likely the woods will little to no defenses to speak of. Her first move will likely be the Athletic building in the middle of the grounds. Xuelan, take Lle, Nell, and Miya to there and eliminate anyone there. Once you secure the building, signal Mihae, Li and Ne to join you in an assault on the Old School Houses. Ravel, you will have command of Isabella, Siris, and Karlamine. Your primary target are are Rias' Knight and Pawn, I want them eliminated with prejudice. Yubelluna, you will be in the skies to eliminate Rias' Queen or any other targets of opportunity."

"Forgive me, Lord Riser, but I believe your plan is flawed," Yubelluna spoke up after orders were issued, "Rias-sama may not have much experience, but Xander-san has more than everyone in this room combined. He is our primary concern here."

"Are you joking, Bell-chan? That Pawn is just a low class devil, there is no way he's a threat to my Onii-chan." Ravel huffed as she crossed her arms over her chest.

"Riser agrees with Ravel-chan, everyone proceed as ordered." Riser commanded.

* * *

"Looks like Rias was correct," Xander idly commented as he stood on the stage at the one end of the Athletic Building. "Riser sent one Chun-li rip off, two Lolis, and Stickfighter. Which do you want Koneko-chan?"

Koneko took a step forward as she tightened her MMA gloves, "I'll take Chun-li if you don't mind."

"Fair enough," Xander nodded, "Hey little Birdies, I'll give you a chance to fly before we clip your wings."

"Is he a dumbass?" Lle asked as she set down her gym bag. "We outnumber them two to one."

"I don't know, but he's the one Lord Riser wants eliminated," Nel pointed out as she also set down her gym bag.

"Don't be over confident," Xuelan ordered as she took up a fighting stance. "Yubelluna-sama warned us about him. I'll eliminate the Rook, you three take out the Pawn."

"Hey, what do you know, they liked your idea, Koneko-chan." Xander brought his arms into an X in front of him manifesting the pair of armored gauntlets of the Boosted Gear. [BOOST!] His hair ruffled by the release of power before he leapt to the attack.

Koneko did not even respond, she leapt at the same time Xander did. Gathering chakra into her fist she came down intending to smash Xuelan's head down into her torso. The Chinese kung-fu specialist leapt back at the last moment, just barely avoiding the devastating attack. Koneko's smashed a two meter diameter section of the parquet flooring into sawdust. The small girl didn't even pause she immediately lashed out with a kick aimed at Xuelan's chin as she back flipped into a more stable position.

'Maou she's fast!' Xuelan couldn't help but think as the dainty foot caught her in the chin and send her reeling back despite it being only a glancing blow, 'And powerful.'

"DYNAMIC ENTRY!" Xander screamed as came in foot first aimed for Mira's head. The staff fighter had been so shocked she couldn't raise her weapon to defend herself. Instead she took the size fourteen boot right to face and was sent tumbling ass over teakettle until she slammed into the far wall, actually causing it to crater from the impact.

'Fuck!' was the only coherent thought Miya had as she sank to the ground. She couldn't see straight and there were so many pretty stars and birdies to look at.

* * *

Sairaorg Bael smiled widely as he saw the impressive attack for such a young devil. "I think I like this Xander."

"Rias won't trade him for anything," Sona Sitri decided to cut off the thought that Rias' cousin was obviously thinking.

"All the better," Sairaorg's smile grew a little, "Once he is properly trained he could be fun to fight."

"If you say so." Sona shook her head. 'I think the more correct term would be suicidal.'

* * *

"Through here, I can see the Building." Burent called back to her partners for this assault. She was in the middle of a clearing, but in the distance it was clear their objected was only a few dozen meters away. "I can't believe they were this careless."

"Who care? I'll take an easy win," Miriam retorted as came into the clearing. "Perhaps Riser-sama will let us play with the boys if we retire the Gremory Princess."

"Oh, that would be nice." Shuriya smiled wide as she strode into the clearing, "I really want to take that Knight for a ride. He looks innocent and I want to corrupt him. Though, I bet that Pawn can punish a girl all night and make her beg for more."

Burent shook her head as she looked to her two perverted partners. "We should be loyal to Lord Riser, not letting any male rut with us."

"Oh shut it Burent-sempai, he can't hear us out here," Shuriya rolled her eyes as she approached the maid and poked in the chest, "I'm tired of being ignored because of his obsession with the redhead. I deserve a little action. Don't tell me you haven't been neglected either. The only one he's been doing is Yubelluna-sama and he makes her change her hair color."

"Shut up, both you, you're being loud enough…" Miriam was speaking as she approached her partners and her foot caught a hidden wire.

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

The clearing was filled with hundreds of metallic balls moving faster than the speed of sound as five claymores detonated in tandem. As the shrapnel tore their way through the personal shields and flesh of each of Riser's pawns the Retirement system activated. Burent, Miriam, and Shuriya vanished in a show of blue white motes.

(Three of Riser's Pawns are Retired due to overwhelming damage) Grayfia's voice echoed in everyone's mind.

"Well, that worked even better than I thought." Kiba commented as he entered clearing and noted that there was blood spray in each direction. "Note to self, check for tripwires in case anyone copies this idea."

* * *

"What in the name of all that is Unholy was that?" Reginald's eyes nearly bugged out of his head at the destruction that the five small boxes created. It was something that normally was only possibly by Mid-class devils.

"Something the Humans invented not that long ago," Sirzech commented, "Not a real threat to a High Class Devil, but it would still be extremely annoying."

"Well, that was certainly surprising," Zeoticus commented as he digested what he just witnessed, "Kiba-kun has a vicious side."

"I believe that particular trick is something Kiba-kun learned from Xander-sama," Grayfia said with a slight grin.

"Really? I more I hear of Xander-kun, the more I like him," Venelana smirked before she took a sip of her wine, "He would undoubtedly make a better Gremory than Riser-san."

* * *

"What the hell is wrong with this guy?" Lle was running as fast as he legs could carry her. Nel was directly to her right. Now normally they were no strangers to running. Their weapon of choice was their enchanted Chainsaws that allowed them to cut through even a Rook's defenses given enough time. The favored tactic of the pair was charge in at a full sprint and slash at the poor victim while shouting out cheers about how they would slice them up. Unfortunately the moment they had revved their chainsaw the shmuck they intended to carve up flipped his shit. He'd literally grabbed their chainsaws by the blade and ruined them on his unbreakable gauntlets. Now he was chasing them with a baseball bat wrapped in barbed wire.

"I don't know!" Nel screamed back as she avoided another swing of the bat, "I think it might be PTSD!"

"Then shouldn't he be… whoa hey!...hiding in a corner cowering in fear!" Lle screamed back.

"Come back here you murdering psychos." Xander screamed as he was chasing the two mint haired girls. [BOOST!] "You carved my girls up. Now take your punishment!"

Miya had finally shaken off her daze and stood back up. Nursing the side of her face that was now one massive bruise she watched her attacker chasing Lle and Nel for a few moments. 'Damn, he's a psycho! I gotta save the girls.' Channeling her devil power into her Staff she thrust it towards Xander. "*Wind Blast*!"

Xander was buffeted with intense wind until he was bodily lifted and slammed into a section of bleachers. The collision was so powerful he actually was blown through the wooden seats. The bat he'd been holding clattered to the floor as he lost group.

"Phew, thank you, Miya!" Lle stopped running and bent over, bracing herself on her knees to catch her breath.

Her twin sister, Nel, was doing the same. "He was going to kill us."

Koneko was having a blast, though as usual she wasn't letting show. She had been trading blow with Xuelan for several minutes and all the kung fu mistress had to show for it was slicing through shorts and shirt. Another girl probably would have been embarrassed to show off their Hello Kitty bra and panty set, but Koneko couldn't have cared less. Aside from Xander everyone else there was a girl.

"You're good," Koneko said as she caught Xuelan's leg mid kick, "But you made a mistake." With that proclamation the smaller girl brought her fist down as hard as she could on the larger woman's knees. With a sickening crunch the knee broken and then bent the wrong way. "Sorry, not sorry."

"AAAAAHHHH!" Xuelan cried out as she rolled around on the floor of the gymnasium. She'd never experienced such a brutal attack and was unable to defend herself as Konkeo broke her arm in a similar fashion at the elbow. "Monster!"

Xander pulled himself out of the bleachers with a snarl. He hated losing control of himself like that. Ever since the episode in Botswana he went on a major freak out when ever confronted with small girls using chainsaws as weapons. He hadn't actually lost any of his girls, but two of them had lost arms. "Thank you for that, Miya, lost myself for a moment. Unfortunately, it still isn't going to save you. Surrender… please."

"No, you're the one who's going to pay, jackass," Lle called out as she pulled out a balisong and flipped it open.

"We're going to slice your balls off." Nel yelled as she readied her own balisong.

"And I owe you a black eye," Miya said as she readied herself for another attack.

"The hard way it is, then," Xander sighed heavily. [BOOST!] Surging forward, Xander slapped the Balisong out of Nel's hand before giving her a not so gentle push that sent her sprawling across the floor. Lle found herself pushed forward casing her to go tumbling into the bleachers. Miya attempted to strike him with her Staff, only for Xander to catch it and then thrust an open palm through the shaft like it was flimsy balsa wood.

"My staff!" Miya whined before she took a palm strike to the gut that doubled her over in over to catch her breath.

Xander ended his charge back near the stage where he gave the three girls the infamous come get me gesture.

"YOU'RE DEAD!" Miya, Lle, and Nell all screamed in unison as they began charging.

Xander contorted his hands in several different strange configurations and then said "*Secret Pervert Jutsu: Dress Break!*"

Instantly there was the shredding sound of clothing as the clothes of the three girls were completely shredded. They weren't even left with their shoes. Their charge came to a halt as they covered their bodies instinctively.

* * *

"It certainly is an unorthodox attack, and relatively harmless," Sona observed. "That is rather unlike Xander-san."

"No, not really," Tsubaki said, "It's harmless but it would neutralize most women in a fight. It would also be good for removing an enemy's armor and possibly any healing items they have. It's a mercy takedown"

"You have a valid point," Sona nodded, "We'll have to try to train the girls to not be embarrassed by nudity."

* * *

"You were only supposed to remove their shoes, Xander-sempai," Koneko frowned at Xander, clearly unhappy with what he did, "Don't become a pervert."

"It's an all or nothing technique and it's not like I have to use it if I want to see them naked." Xander huffed as he turned away from the sobbing girls. "And it's certainly less traumatizing than how you immobilized Xuelan."

"Tch, whatever you say, Sempai," Koneko deadpanned, "Come on, we have to leave." She said as she grabbed Xander's arm and began running out of the gymnasium. As they did satchels above each door dropped hundred of caltrops.

"I wonder why they left like that?" Nel muttered.

BOOOOOOM!

Xander and Koneko had been running away from the Athletic building at full speed but the shockwave still picked them up and flung them along. Luckily, they were far enough away all that really happened some tumbling along the ground for a few meters.

(One of Riser's Rooks and Three Pawns have been retired due to overwhelming damage)

"Note to self: Akeno-chan likes to make big explosions." Xander muttered as he climbed to his feat. "Koneko-chan are you alright?"

"I am tougher than you are, Xander-baka," Koneko kipped up to her feet and brushed some dirt off her tattered clothes. "If you are alright then you know I am."

"Well, sorry for worrying, Koneko-chan," Xander rolled his eyes at the idea of apologizing for being concerned. "Let me mend those clothes before we link up with Kiba and Raynare." Xander flashed through some more of his odd sign language. "*Secret Zeppo Jutsu: Clothing Repair*!"

Koneko marveled as he clothing actually returned to it's normal state, but then she frowned as it was no longer loose, but tight enough it was almost painted on. "Xander-senpai, why is it skin tight?"

"I can't create cloth out of nothing, so shrinkage is normal." Xander replied with a shrug, "Looks good on you though."

"Sempai is becoming a pervert," Koneko's disapproval was palpable as she shook her head. Then her eyes widened before she pushed Xander away from herself making him tumble a dozen yards before coming to a rest.

BOOOOOM!

Xander didn't get to see the explosion itself, but he sure saw the crater that Koneko was laying in the middle of. Before he could even get to his feet she was already dissolving into the blue light of the retirement system.

(One Rook of Rias of Gremory retired due to unconsciousness)

"Oh, that is too bad, I was hoping to take you both out with that blast." Yubelluna hovered above the crater facing Xander, "You're too big a threat to ignore, Xander-kun. I apologize for what I am about to do."

[BOOST!]

"You won't need to apologize," Xander ground out between clenched teeth, "You'll need to beg for mercy."

* * *

**The Hitai-ate of Gremory**

Bearers: Rias Gremory, Akeno Himejima, Koneko Toujou, Asia Argento, Kiba Yuuto, Raynare, and Xander Harris  
Manufacturer: Hephaestus and Xander from the broken sacred gear of the Earrings of Karna.  
Appearance: A golden adamantine forehead protector plate on a silk tie that is whatever color the wearer wishes. The plate has the Gremory sigil engraved on it's surface, the sigil filled with ruby dust.  
Powers:  
-Aura of Defense: Each Hitai-ate vastly increases the defenses of the bearer. This effectively adds a Rook's level of defense atop what the wearer possesses.  
-Godly Constitution: Each Hitai-ate gives the bearer near Godlike Stamina allowing them to fight at full capacity for hours before tiring.  
-The Hitai-ate can be worn in virtually any manner in order to grant it's abilities.  
-Xander wears his as a Forehead Protector in combat, as does Koneko  
-Asia wears hers around her neck in combat.  
-Asia and Koneko wear their as Headbands when they are not in combat  
-Akeno wears her as a Ponytail holder  
-Kiba wears it wrapped around his left thigh.  
-Raynare wears hers as a belt  
-Rias wears hers on her right bicep. Outside of combat Xander wears his in the same place..  
-Xander's Hitai-ate will create new ones as he accepts more people as he considers someone part of his girls or brothers.


	11. Gremory vs Phenex chapter 2

**Disclaimer**: I do not own High School DxD, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Angel, Harry Potter, Naruto, and Rifts

**Major AU**: Do not expect this story to strictly follow canon for High School DxD.

**Key**: "Talking" 'Thought' [Sacred Gear] (Pailamancy or Telepathy) *Technique*

**Author Note**: Someone asked me why so many devils use the Japanese Suffixes and Honorifics when they aren't Japanese. Well the truth of the matter is many are and some like the Japanese Suffixes and Honorifics. They aren't used universally by or about anybody, but the rule of thumb is if the speaker or subject is Japanese (even in part) or a Japanophile the suffixes/honorifics will be used. The Gremory House for instance used Japanese honorific because Rias insisted on learning the language the hard way and her parents decided they would, as did the staff and her brother. The Sitri House has a lot of Japanese influence as well. Part of Riser's peerage is Japanese and use has bled to some members. And so on.

**Gremory vs Phenex Chapter Two**

_BOOOOOM!_

_Xander didn't get to see the explosion itself, but he sure saw the crater that Koneko was laying in the middle of. Before he could even get to his feet she was already dissolving into the blue light of the retirement system._

_(One Rook of Rias of Gremory retired due to unconsciousness)_

_"Oh, that is too bad, I was hoping to take you both out with that blast." Yubelluna hovered above the crater facing Xander, "You're too big a threat to ignore, Xander-kun. I apologize for what I am about to do."_

_[BOOST!]_

_"You won't need to apologize," Xander ground out between clenched teeth, "You'll need to beg for mercy."_

'Oh Maou, I think I might have pissed him off.' Yubelluna deadpanned in her own mind as heard Xander's response. 'I put everything I had in a shape charged blast and it barely knocked out the Rook. I won't have another shot like that in me for few minutes and I doubt he's going to let me rest. Better try to bluff.' "I took out your Rook friend with one blast. Save yourself the pain and surrender."

"Fuck that!" Xander growled as he reached behind him and pulling out a Stinger MANPADS and shouldering the weapon. "Say cheese bitch!" He smirked as weapon locked on the heat signature of her wings.

"Oh HELL!" Yubelluna didn't even bother trying to fire off a bomb blast. The best she could have done was knock Xander back and delay the launch a second. Instead of wasting time she turned tail and started flying as fast as she could and hope she could destroy the missile before it hit her. She didn't get far. The missile hit her before she could make it fifty meters.

* * *

"Note to self: buy Xander-kun a replacement Stinger missile as a thank you present." Zeoticus muttered as he witnessed Riser's Queen plummeting to the ground.

"Make it an even score, darling," Venelana breathed out, "No wonder Yubelluna-chan decided Xander was too big a threat to just ignore."

* * *

"Well, that was almost expected," Sona blinked owlishly, "Yubelluna is down, but not out of it yet. By the time he's done, she might just wish she'd fought Akeno."

"Note to self: Flying is not a viable escape when fighting Xander-kun." Tsubaki muttered as she considered the fact that Xander probably had more than one missile launcher.

* * *

"Aaiiiee!" Yubelluna screamed out as she rolled onto her back. The missile had hit her right between the wings creating massive burns all over her back as well as shredding some of the skin muscles. Her Queen defenses had not helped as much as they should and she wondered briefly if the weapon had been blessed. 'Of course it was blessed. He's Xander the White Knight Harris! I need that Phenex Tear if I am going to take him out.' Moving her good arm she reached into her cleavage and grinned as she pulled out the jeweled bottle. Only to have it snatched out of her hand by a crimson gauntlet. "Give that back!"

"I don't think so." Xander said shoving the small red bottle into his dimensional pocket. "No healing for you. Just a lesson in never hurting one of my girls."

[BOOST!]

Yubelluna wanted to scream as the gauntlet hand palmed her face and closed around her head in a steel hard grip, but she couldn't. She was then lifted a bit and then slammed into the asphalt pavement before being dragged along for a dozen feet. Her body was being shoved so hard into the asphalt that it was be crushed under her. She could barely breathe let alone scream. Finally she was lifted up and got a look into Xander's eyes. The chocolate brown held no mercy while the star ruby just glowed with fury. She was set briefly on her feet, but before she could register that she could try to run she suffered a palm thrust to her sternum and felt something crack. Her body didn't even get the chance to tumble across the ground as it was enveloped in the blue-white glow of retirement.

(Riser's Queen retired due to overwhelming damage.) Grayfia's voice echoed in everyone's head.

"Now that was insanely hot, Xander-kun." Akeno landed next to him. She had watched the whole exchange just waiting to step in. After all Yubelluna the Bomb Queen wasn't any slouch as a Queen. "Maybe you can help me work off some of the excitement later."

Xander let out a long breath and chuckled at Akeno's antics. While other people would be put off by them, Faith and Anya had inoculated him rather well. "Maybe I will, Akeno-chan. First we have a Rating Game to win."

* * *

Riser blinked in surprise as he watched the Pawn completely destroy his Queen. "This must be some trick. No low class devil is that strong." He continued to watch the battles from the roof of the Administration wing. His plan revolved around waiting for Rias to be defenseless and then engage her directly. He was confident that his *Regeneration* would outlast the *Power of Destruction*. "Though if that Pawn keeps eliminating Riser's pieces so easily then Riser will have to eliminate him personally."

* * *

"We need to regroup with Ravel-sama," Mihae was not an idiot in the least. She had some impressive magical powers at her disposal, but obviously she wasn't on Yubelluna's level. "They're obviously attacking the others en masse and overwhelming them. We can't face the whole Gremory peerage at once."

"You're right, nya." Li spoke up as she glanced around the sports equipment shed. It had been close to the Athletic building, the Track, and the Tennis Courts. All of which were excellent routes to the Administration wing.

"Let's stop wasting time here." Ni spoke up, "Something feels wrong, nya."

"That's probably me," Raynare stepped out from behind Javelin rack. The Fallen angel was wearing sunglasses as well wearing ear muffs. "Sorry about this, but I'm not very skilled."

"Sorry about…. NYAAAH" Li and Ni screeched out as the Flash Bang went off. Having adapted to the darkness of the equipment shed both Nekomata had their pupils wide open. So the blinding flash was actually physically painful. Given their enhanced hearing the bang actually made their ears bleed as they dropped to their knees.

"NANI!" Mihae was blinded and deafened for a moment, but that didn't stop her from feeling the Light Spear pierce her stomach. The burning pain was so intense she blacked out immediately before the retirement system whisked her away

Without pause Raynare stabbed both Nekomata through their belies, causing the instant triggering of the retirement system the wounds were serious enough they'd be fatal if left untreated.

(One of Riser's Bishops and two remaining pawn have been retired due to lethal wounds) Grayfia's voice announced.

* * *

"So I heard that the Bomb Queen was taken out, congratulations Akeno-chan," Kiba Yuuto praised his sempai as he met up with Xander and Akeno on the track. He was no worse for wear considering he hadn't even had to lift a finger yet.

"Don't congratulate me, Kiba-kun. Xander-kun took her out in an amazing display of brutality." Akeno flashed a wide grin, "It was the sexiest thing I have ever seen… outside of the picture Aika has of you two changing in the locker room."

"Note to self: ask Aika not to share that picture with every girl." Xander groaned out as he realized there a picture of him either nude or in his speedo out there. "So far we got all eight pawns, a bishop, a rook and the queen. Let's see if we can lure out some other birdies."

"I like that plan," Kiba nodded. Cupping his hands around his mouth, Kiba shouted out. "I am Kiba Yuuto, Knight of Rias Gremory I call out for a duel with any of my fellow Knights!"

"It lacks a certain subtlety, but I guess it might work." Xander chuckled at the Knight's antics and how much it reminded him of his younger and dumber days. "Definitely channeling your inner Buffy today, Kiba-kun."

"What can I say? Watching the show has been educational," Kiba chuckled as he drew his sword in preparation for whomever would be coming their way. "It's certainly helped me with understanding your particular brand of humor."

"Oi, I resent that. I am hysterical." Xander shot back. "Right, Akeno-chan?"

"What's important is you believe that, Xander-kun." Akeno hid her mouth as she giggled at Xander's affronted expression. "Oh, it seems that Kiba-kun's friends are here."

"I am Karlamine, a Knight in the service of Riser Phenex," announced the woman wearing a European style breastplate with Samurai style kote, kusazuri, and sode. Pointing her arming sword at Kiba, she offered a smile, "I will accept your challenge, Kiba Yuuto. May the better swordsmanship prevail."

Kiba smiled as he immediately went on the assault. His standard Long Sword lashing out with incredible speed and power. Karlamine was stuck on the defensive for a few moments as she was furiously blocking strikes that would have easily crippled her. The pair were furiously trading blows, parrying attacks, barely dodging strikes, and making feints at speeds that normal people would not be able to follow.

"Oh great, one cute boy in the entire peerage and he's a sword maniac like Karlamine-san," Ravel Phenex griped as furious melee continued. "Well, she is tying up your Knight, so I guess we can take out the Queen and one measly Pawn, right ladies?"

"Did she just underestimate me?" Xander glanced to Akeno for confirmation.

"In her defense, I don't think she saw what you did to Yubelluna-san," Akeno shrugged. Adopting a wicked smile she sized up the opposition. "How about I punish the Princess and you handle the Road Warrior and the other Sword Maniac?"

[BOOST!]

"Who am I to argue with a threesome?" Xander quipped as he rushed forward. While more people would have gone for the sword wielder first, the scouter function in the Eye of Omen had made it clear that Isabella was the greater threat. He wasn't disappointed as the woman easily dodged his first attack and countered with a punch of her own. Xander had barely avoided that as well.

"You aren't bad." Isabella said as her sweep kick attack missed entirely. She then tried to rabbit punch him in the throat, be Xander weaved out of the way. "But you aren't quite on my level!" The knee to Xander's breadbasket caused him to stagger back from the sheer power. This was followed by an uppercut to the jaw that sent the Pawn flying through the air.

'Damn, she hits as hard as Koneko!' Xander groaned as he worked his jaw for a moment to see if it was broken. However he didn't have much time to recover as Siris was bringing her sword down in an attempt to slice him in half. Instinctively he caught the blade in his right hand, the Boosted Gear gauntlet refusing to be damaged by such a paltry weapon. However Xander was straining to hold the blade back given the power behind it. 'Well, score one for Riser he made a strong woman super fast as well.'

"How did you stop my blade? It's inconceivable!" Siris was shocked by the fact that her opponent was simply holding her strike with one hand.

"I do not think that word means what you think it means." Xander could not help his smart mouth at times. Not that he was really trying. [Boost!] With the surge of power rushing through his body, Xander closed his fist shattering Siris' Zweihander as if it were cheap glass. He then kicked the shocked knight back.

"I'm going to finish you!" Isabella was charging in with her fist cocked back for a powerful blow.

Xander's hands quickly flashed through some of his strange version of sign language before he called out. "Secret Dragon Jutsu: Beam Cannon!" with that pronunciation he stretch out his hands and released a massive beam of red energy that caught both devils in a direct hit. The beam did not even paused it continued on tearing through the chain link fence, vaporizing trees, and cutting a special resource building in half before it hit the edge of the dimensional pocket and exploding in a massive ball of energy that created a small mushroom cloud.

(One of Riser's Knights and his remaining Rook are retired due to overwhelming damage.)

* * *

"That was rather impressive." Venelana observed with a smile, "It's not often you see that type of attack unleashed by what people assume is a Low Class devil."

"I've been impressed since he brutally took down Yubelluna-chan," Ramona Phenex agreed with the assessment. "He hasn't even used a promotion yet and he's wreaking that level of havoc. Your daughter found a true diamond in the rough."

"Bah, he likely used all of his power in that attack and Riser will finish him off easily." Reginald responded, "Then it will only be a matter of time until Riser claims his prize."

* * *

"Aiiiieeee!" Ravel Phenex was not having a good day. Oh it had started off wonderfully. Her Onii-chan had taken the whole peerage out for Crepes, which she loved. He then complimented her on her lovely pink dress. Then she was going to help her Onii-chan beat the peerage of that stuck up princess, Rias Gremory. She had no idea why Rias didn't like her brother Riser. Riser was handsome, powerful, rich, and doted on his peerage. He would be the perfect husband for any girl. Not that Ravel felt that way about her brother. She just thought Rias was blind. Only know her day wasn't going well at all, somehow Rias' peerage was absolutely devastating Riser's. Worse, she was now in a desperate fight when she was just supposed to be observing and acting as a tactician. She'd spent the last few minutes blocking lightning from the Priestess of Thunder of all people. She was magically exhausted despite the massive boost in power she got from being a Bishop.

"Fufufufu!" Akeno licked her lip seductively as he last bolt of lightning powered through the young Phenex girl's defenses. She had been disappointed that she didn't get to play very much with the others, but she had to admit the idea of seeing how far she could take this was intriguing. "I'm sorry did that hurt? Let's try this to see if you like it better *Lightning*"

"N-nn-nooo!" Ravel cried out as the arc of electricity flowed over her. Every nerve ending she had was screaming in pain. Then it faded a she felt the flames of her family burning away the damage. "P-please no more."

"Hmmm, how about we switch it up a little, Ravel-chan?" Akeno pondered for a moment, "Xander gave me the idea for this one. I'll start it off low and we'll work our way up. *Pleasure Spark*"

Ravel's eyes widened in horror as another wave of electricity coursed over her. As with the previous attack, Ravels body fails her as the current caused her muscled to spasm wildly. There was a difference this time, instead of the jarring pain there were tingles of pleasure running through her body. That pleasure kept building and building in her core until her entire world went white with pleasure."Ooooh Maou!"

(Riser's remaining Bishop has retired due to unconsciousness.)

"Oh my, I think I went a little overboard on that." Akeno covered her mouth as she let out a pleased laugh. 'That was fun, but it still didn't scratch my itch. I wonder if Kiba-kun needs help.'

* * *

"What a shameful way to defeat a High Class Devil." Reginald fumed as he saw his daughter being retired by literally being pleasured into blacking out. "How dare that harlot defile a daughter of the Phenex Clan in such a way!"

"Would you prefer that Akeno-san keep striking your daughter with lightning over and over until her *Regeneration* gives way?" Zeoticus replied casually. "You should be thankful. Your daughter was just taught a lesson that some enemies should be avoided until you have the ability to take them on. And she learned it without nearly dying."

"Perhaps that is a lesson those of lesser houses should learn, but not a Phenex." Reginald declared angrily. "Obviously Lady Ramona has coddled Ravel too much. Riser will show you all how a true Phenex fights his enemies."

* * *

"That is an interesting sword you have there." Karlamine observed as she parried another blow. "A normal sword would have already broken under my assault."

"Thank you, it's a Demonic Sword of Sharpness," Kiba replied as was forced to parry a slice that would have opened up his throat, "Incredibly useful for slicing through limbs with no effort. I normally can't use it in spars, even though we have an excellent healer who could reattach anything I sever."

"It seems it is seems it is my fate to face opponents with interesting swords," Karlamine chuckled as she ducked under a decapitating strike and focused on igniting her sword. "The last one was a Holy Sword user, so hopefully this will work better on your blade." Bringing down her blade with all her might on Kiba's blade, Karlamine channeled more magic into her sword creating a superheated aura around the blade. The result was spectacular as Demonic Sword of Sharpness was shattered by sudden heating and great force. "Ah, and now you are weaponless."

"Whoever said that?" Kiba smirked as he triggered [Sword Birth]. The hilt in his hand rapidly grew another blade, this one with a special tip with a hollowed out section. "Let's see how you handle *Flame Delete*." As he said that, the flames surrounding Karlamine sword were literally sucked into Kiba's sword and a few of the cuts and scratched the swordsman had accrued over the course of the duel were closing.

"You have two Demonic Swords?" Karlamine gasped out loud.

"No, I have the Sacred Gear [Sword Birth] and you are out of time." Kiba chuckled as he struck *Flame Delete* into the ground.

"What are you… aaahhh!" Karlamine screamed out as she was impaled by a dozen swords erupting from the ground underneath of her. Both of her arms were pierced as was her left thigh and belly. Without a further word she dispersed into the blue white motes of the retirement system.

(Riser's last Knight has retired due to near lethal wounds)

"Well, that was a nice fight I wonder if…"

FWOOOMPH!

Kiba was unable to continue his inquiry as he was engulfed in a column of hellfire.

(Rias' one Knight has been retired due to extreme damage.)

"That was pathetically easy. No challenge at all," The third son of the Phenex clan landed just a few feet from the circled of charred earth that marked where Kiba had fallen. "Riser is disappointed in the performance of his Peerage. It's obvious Riser needs to increase their training if they fell to such a weakling."

"You bastard!" Raynare screamed as she came flying in with *Light Spear* in hand. She wasn't particularly close to Kiba, but she had spent time training with him. The cowardly rear attack that Riser had perform also pissed her off. Unlike Fallen who were trained for combat, her impulsiveness had not been curbed.

"Another pest, enjoy a similar fate to your friend's." Riser smirked as he raised his hands and a sigil formed in front of him. "*Flame Twister*"

As the name implied, Riser created a small tornado of flames in front of the charging Fallen. Unable to stop or swerve to avoid her fate, Raynare took a moment to hurl her *Light Spear*. While she was not a true warrior, Raynare had always been incredibly accurate with her spears. As she entered the *Flame Twister* to be consumed by the hellfire driven by incredible wind speeds, her *Light Spear* pierced Risers right thigh all the way through.

(One Bishop of Rias Gremory has been retired due to extreme damage)

"Arrgh, that Fallen Bitch has wounded Riser," Riser groaned as he looked down at his leg. The pain was incredible, almost bringing him to his knees as the Light was poisoning his body. The healing flames of his *Regeneration* could not even be triggered until he removed the spear. Summoning ever bit of willpower he had, Riser unleashed a torrent of *Hell Fire* to destroy his own leg. "Riser will… have to… punish Rias… for bringing that… thing here."

* * *

"He didn't even bother trapping the roof?" Rias Gremory was stunned speechless as she stood atop the administration wing. "We wasted all that time looking for traps and he didn't even have one? His peerage doesn't have the power needed to play the combat brute game."

"Buchou, why are you looking the gift horse in the mouth?" Asia asked she moved to stand beside her, "We can summon Xander-kun here and get him promoted."

"I just… it's like he's not even taking me seriously here." Rias muttered darkly. "It's one of the things that made me really hate him. He was once a sweet guy that could have been a good friend, but he changed after he became my fiancé. He went from being a good listener to never listening at all. He just stopped taking anything I said seriously. Especially when I tell him I don't want to marry him." Rias fumed even as she began weaving a magic circle. The rules of teleportation in a Rating Game had a few loop holes and she was going to exploit one of the most interesting. A King in enemy territory could summon any one member of her peerage. "*Pawn Summoning*"

Xander's form slowly rose from the Gremory teleportation circle on the ground. It took him only a moment to realize that one of the contingency plans had actually worked. "Where is he?"

"Down in the Track field and he just eliminated Kiba and Raynare in quick succession," Rias replied as she saw her favorite servant was only a bit roughed up. "You were right, he's definitely the most powerful of his Peerage and does most of the actual fighting after the other weaken the opposition."

"I wish I was wrong about that given he's beaten groups that are, on paper at least, stronger than we are," Xander shook his head as he looked out the Track field. The Eye of Omen zooming in his sight until he could see Akeno was heading for Riser's position. "You'll need to go back up Akeno and hold for a minute or two, I am near… [RESET]… correction, I am at reset. Even if I promote to Queen I'll need a few Boosts to be useful."

"That was my thought as well, Xander-kun," Rias nodded as she mentally went through the possibilities. "Asia-chan are you ready?"

"Hai, Buchou, I am ready." Asia squared her shoulders as she extended her wings. Nobody was quite sure why but the former nun was capable of flight when Xander wasn't quite capable yet. "I will do my best to protect and heal you until Xander-kun arrives."

"You'll both do great. You've trained hard for this." Xander said as he stepped between the two girl. He kissed Rias on her right cheek and Asia on her left. "For luck."

"T-thank you," both young woman stuttered out as they blushed heavily. A moment later they booth took to the air.

"Promotion to Queen!" Xander intoned. For a split second a phantom crimson Queen piece was super-imposed over Xander. "Whoa! Nice power rush. Now to set things up." He muttered as he reached behind himself and pulled out a massive rifle and set it down. A moment later an ammo bag was also produced as was a shotgun, all placed on the roof.

[Boost]

Xander's finger contorted in the strange sign language he'd used before "Secret Zeppo Jutsu: Shadow Clone." Immediately following the proclamation a second Xander appeared but he didn't have the Boosted Gear gauntlets. "Whoa! And that definitely took something out of me. You, take up position as Sniper and wait until I signal you before you fire, unless Rias is in danger of being retired."

"Sir, yes, sir." The clone replied with a snappy salute before picking up the massive rifle, ammo pack, and shotgun.

"Great, it wasn't my imagination. They are just as weird as I am." Xander grumbled.

* * *

"Are you actually trying to hit me?" Akeno taunted as she side stepped another gout of *Hellfire* with astonishing ease. She had started engaging Riser just after he was forced to incinerate his own leg and started the exchange off by tossing a pair of flashbangs at the healing Phenex. The result was that his regeneration was trying to heal his leg, his ear, and his eyes at the same time and it was slowing the process down. Not that she was helping much. "*Thunder Clap*" A bolt of actual lightning struck Riser causing a few more burns in through the man's defenses. But more importantly the sudden vacuum and then thunder clap caused the healing flames to extinguish yet again. 'Unfortunately I can't delay him too much longer. I am using up magic faster than I can recover it.'

"You dare mock Riser, Harlot! You will be burn! *Flame Wave*" Riser was beyond livid. One of Rias' servants forced him to remove his own leg and now the other had blinded and deafened him while he was recovering. She also kept dousing the healing flames of his *Regeneration*. So he resorted to one of his few area attack powers. A literal wave of *Hellfire* was expelled in all direction. There was literally no way to avoid the attack.

"*Aegis Aqua*" Akeno saw what was coming and erected a spherical shield of ice cold water around herself. As the *Hellfire* passed over the shield the water instantly vaporized even as it neutralized the attack. Unfortunately this did result in Akeno finding herself panting from the immense heat and humidity. 'That was close.'

"Finally, Riser is healed." Riser stood tall now on his new leg. The only sign that he was injured was the destruction of his pant leg. His sight was cleared of all the annoying spot and she could hear perfect rather than the muffled mumblings he was reduced to. "Ah, Riser was correct it indeed was Rias' Queen. Why are you fighting so fiercely? Your Master is just playing hard to get. Or are you hoping to be Riser's plaything before your Master gets her taste of bliss."

"Now you are just trying to make me nauseous." Akeno made a show of suppressing the urge to throw up. Theatrically shuddering in revulsion she was hiding that she was preparing a spell. "I'd much rather die a virgin then ever do anything with you. In fact, I'd sooner let you kiss my *Ball Lightning!*

With her utterance a volley ball sized sphere of lightning formed before Akeno and started moving towards Riser, but at a pace that was much like a normal human running.

"What a feeble attack, it's so slow." Riser scoffed as he raised a *Shield* directly before the *Ball Lightning* only to see it tear through the barrier as if it was nothing. In fact it seemed the *Shield* fed the attack. Now it was the size of a medium beach ball and was moving a little faster. "What in the blazes?

"I'm not an Evil Warlord, so I don't disclose my secrets," Akeno giggled as he raised her hand to the sky. A massive sigil formed in the sky above the track field. "*THUNDER BOLT!*" Several massive lightning bolts poured out of the sigil, each of them seeking out Riser.

"*SHIELD!*" Riser called out in panic as he raised his hands. He knew he could easily take one bolt, but there were half a dozen. He was unsure if how long he would be incapacitated by that much electricity flowing into his system and he could feel another presence coming. The barrier held against four of the massive bolts but then the fifth shattered the *Shield* letting a small amount of current through. The next bolt he took dead on in the chest. A softball sized hole was punched through his ribcage and lungs as he dropped to the ground twitching.

"Looks like you hand things in hand, Akeno-chan," Rias commented as she landed next to her Queen. The redhead was smiling from ear to ear seeing Riser taken down a few pegs, "And here I thought you'd need back up."

"I do," Akeno admitted as she started panting heavily, "I'm almost useless for a few minutes at least. I could probably summon a weak shield, but that's it. I put everything in those last two attacks."

"Don't worry, Akeno-sempai, Xanrai and I will protect you as Buchou takes over." Asia declared confidently as she landed just behind the older girl. Xanrai was perched on Asia's head looking alert for any danger that could be coming.

Riser had just barely risen to his feet, the hole in his chest belching out flames. "Ah, Riser's beloved has arrived to surr… AAAARRRRGGGGHHH!"

Whatever Riser had been about to say was cut off by the *Ball Lightning* finally striking him. The beach ball sized sphere of electricity and plasma tore it's way through Riser's innate defenses, feeding on the magic to add to it's own power. Riser's right arm and shoulder were literally vaporized by the attack. Unfortunately as it ground out on Riser the fames of *Regeneration* flared to life rebuilding the lost parts with alarming speed.

"That is impressive, but why is he recovering so fast." Rias was concerned at the speed of the Riser's recovery. "That's much faster than he's been healing."

"Heh. Riser knew it would be a wise decision to keep a tear for Riser's own use," Riser's dark chuckle was unnerving as he stood to his feet, "You should surrender now, Beloved. Riser is impressed with your Peerage's power, but it is now over. You are not capable of defeating Riser now. You can drop the act."

"Act?" Rias asked as she started gathering power. "What act is that Riser?" She spat his name out like it was poison in her mouth.

"The hard to get act, Rias." Riser stated as if explaining things to a child. "Riser is impressed with your strength. You can stop pretending you don't love Riser."

"You think I love you? You think I am just playing a game here? " Rias was beyond furious an aura of power began manifesting around her in the shade of the red-black flames of her signature power. Her voice began to echo as she spoke, she was exuding so much power. "I loathe you, Riser. You have taken choice from me. You have threatened my family. You seek to take away my ability to find love and that is unforgivable!" With that last word shed flung out her hand and several sigils formed in succession as she unleashed the *Power of Destruction*

The black-red power raced towards Riser who was shocked enough not to raise a shield. Instead he took the blast dead on allowing his head and neck to be utterly destroyed by the *Power of Destruction*. However his body remained standing as the fire of *Regeneration* just replaced what was lost in a matter of seconds.

After his head reformed Riser sighed, "Riser sees. You won't let end the game until you are completely defeated." Riser sighed as he flung out his hand releasing a massive gout of *Hellfire*.

"*Shield of Hope*" Asia called out as she poured magic into forming a barrier to protect herself and Akeno. Unfortunately it just simply wasn't enough. The overpowered *Hellfire* shattered her shield and the flames engulfed both girls causing them to be engulfed in the blue white motes of the retirement system.

(Rias' Queen and remaining Bishop are retire due to overwhelming damage.)

"You bastard!" Rias started flinging handfuls of the *Power of Destruction* at a rapid rate. The masses of red-black power slammed into Riser more often than they missed. Each time they would carve out sizeable section of flesh that just erupted in the healing flames the Phenex clan was known for.

"You have no more defenders left and as impressive as your powers are, Riser's are more developed," Riser said as he slowly walked toward Rias, taking each attack she dished out. They were lessening in power while he seemed to be unaffected. "It's time you…"

"Dynamic Entry!" Xander screamed out for the second time in the battle, his boot catching Riser in the side of the head with incredible force. In fact the older Devil had his skull fractured and eight of his vertebrae shattered by the impact. The brunette landed on his feet as Riser's body was sent ass over tea kettle for a dozen meters. "Sorry I am late."

Rias couldn't help it, she burst out in tears as she hugged Xander. "Nonsense, you arrived just in time."

"No, he took out Akeno-chan and Asia-chan… worse he almost laid his hands on you, Buchou-chan." Xander patted his master on the back as he returned the embrace.

Riser groaned as he rose to his feet. 'Didn't see that Pawn coming and got sloppy.' He reprimanded himself as he orientated on the hugging pair. 'He must be the one who stole my Rias. He'll die screaming.' Raising his hand and forming a large ball of *Hellfire* Riser prepared to throw it when his head simply exploded in a spray of gore.

"Well, it looks like KFC reject was going to try to fry us when we were distracted," Xander chuckled as he looked up to see Riser's head being reformed after it had been destroyed by a blessed .50BMG round from his clone playing sniper. "Hey, if you want your head to keep exploding like that, you can continue fighting. My boy has a few hundred rounds in his duffle. And trust me, he won't miss… ever."

"Riser doesn't know what trick you pulled but it won't happen…" Riser started to say but then his head exploded again this time causing his body to fall backwards.

"He's not that bright is he?" Xander asked Rias, his lopsided grin making it clear he was quipping.

"He used to be much smarter," Rias put her finger to her chin in thought, "It could be he loses some intellect every time he has to *regenerate* his head."

"You insensitive prick, do you have any idea how much that stings," Riser whined as his head formed again, "Riser is going to enjoy making you pay."

"Really? Because you're about to be headless again." Xander quirked his eyebrow at the blonde just before Riser's head exploded again.

"You are enjoy that, aren't you?" Rias couldn't help the small smile on her lips.

"Yeah… he hurt my brother and my girls, you included." Xander admitted with a grin.

"Riser is getting really tired of…" Riser began and his head exploded again in another shower of gore.

"We should let him surrender, don't you think?" Rias asked as he looked down and saw that there was some gore and brain matter on her skirt.

"Do we have to?" Xander playfully whined but when he got a glare he sighed, "Fine, I will let him surrender if he meets my terms."

"You bastard, Riser will get…" Riser got no further before his head popped yet again.

"What terms?" Rias started tapping her foot impatiently. She wasn't the type of person to torture someone excessively and what was going on was a little beyond her limit for the crimes Riser committed against her.

"I am going to challenge him for the ownership of the contract. If he accepts he can surrender." Xander stated with a wide smile.

* * *

"How does that low class trash know that the contract is transferable?" Reginald glared at Zeoticus, "If you told him then the Gremory House will never get another Phenex Tear as long as Reginald is Head of the family."

"I had absolutely nothing to do with this," Zeoticus admitted as he raised his hands in a mock surrender manner, "Neither I nor my wife have ever even spoken to Xander-kun."

"Reginald finds that hard to believe with how close Gremorys hold their servants." The man spat out with a great deal of vitriol.

"If you must know, I ordered Grayfia-chan to inform Xander-kun." Sirzechs cut off any further argument. "The Four Satans agreed that it was in the best interests of Devil-kind. Now be quiet I want to see my Ria-tan out think her most precious pawn."

* * *

"Are you crazy? Don't challenge him. Just tell him to surrender it or you'll continue until he is permanently dead." Rias glared at Xander for being so macho as to think challenging an immortal was the best option.

"That… is the better plan." Xander admitted. "I knew there was a reason you are the boss, Buchou-chan."

"Riser will never surrender the contract!" Riser roared out and then his head exploded again.

"You know, my boy can keep doing that or I can pull out any number of weapons I have and give him a break. Rias can even take a few turns just destroying your head over and over." Xander cut Riser off before he could speak again. Then the blonde's head exploded again. When it reformed once more, Xander continued, "I read up on the retirement system, it only triggers on you when your heart stops for five minutes, which is the danger zone for your power." Xander paused as Riser's head exploded again and waited for it to reform. "Eventually your powers will give out and you won't grow a head back at all. I don't think you are ready for that."

"Please… please stop." Riser pled as he flinched just before his head exploded. Once it reformed he was crying, "Riser will give you the contract, just please not again. Riser swears on the life of Ravel-chan."

"Wow, he really means it. If there is someone Riser loves as much as himself it's his little sister," Rias exclaimed. "We accept."

"Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Riser is sorry. So sorry. Riser surrenders. Riser surrenders to Xander-sama. Please don't blow up Riser's head again, Xander-sama!" Riser blubbered through the tears.

(Riser Phenex surrenders. Rias Gremory wins.)

* * *

Author Note:

All of Xander's spells will be self invented and he use Hand Seals from the Naruto Manga/Anime as his centering technique. It's his mental crutch to get over the idea that "Xander and Magic are unmixy"

**Secret Zeppo Jutsu: Shadow Clone** Xander has reverse engineered a version of the Naruto Anime's Shadow Clone. For a substantial amount of Devil Power, Xander can create a temporary and completely human clone of himself. This clone has all the normal equipment the original Xander was wearing when formed, but no Sacred Gears or Magical Equipment. The sole exception is the Hitai-ate of Gremory. The clones have all the skills and abilities Xander possesses except his purely devil powers. They also possess both eyes unlike the real Xander. The clones generally act like Xander, but defer to the original all the time. They are as durable as a human with Xander's traits should be, but when they are killed they disperse in a puff of smoke. Lastly when they disperse, Xander receives all memories of the clone. The Clone cannot make a clone. Only those who are or were once human can learn this skill.


	12. Winding Down

**Disclaimer**: I do not own High School DxD, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Angel, Harry Potter, Naruto, and Rifts

**Major AU**: Do not expect this story to strictly follow canon for High School DxD.

**Key**: "Talking" 'Thought' [Sacred Gear] (Pailamancy or Telepathy) *Technique*

**Winding Down**

The entire ORC was in the Gremory infirmary occupying six of the sixteen beds in the Rapid Treatment Unit. It should have been seven, but Rias refused to be separated from Xander and literally clung to his side much to the bemusement or everyone. Between magical fatigue and the sudden relief of a great deal of stress in her life, the redhead was fast asleep. Thanks to the Retirement System of the Rating Game the worst injuries the ORC suffered were massive second degree burns. Between the healing ointments, spells, and advanced technology even the worst of those burns were just painful memories. Not that Kiba, Asia, Akeno, Raynare, and Xanrai walked away scot free. The results of rapid medical treatment left them all magically exhausted and suffering the equivalent of bad sunburn. As such they were all sedated after they were coaxed to eat a meal. What amazed Xander was that the treatments had restored each person's hair to perfect condition. As for Koneko she was one again conscious and in the process of eating her body weight in Root Beer Baby Back Ribs. As for Xander himself, he only had a new assortment of bruises and scrapes that had been treated with salve and painkillers.

"I'm telling you I am fine. Whatever painkillers are wonderful~." Despite what some might think Xander Harris-Hyoudou was an ideal patient. He cooperated with nurses, healer, and doctors. He gave clear and concise reports on exactly what symptoms he was suffering or how he acquired the injuries without any macho bullshit downplaying them. There was his odd sense of humor, but nobody is perfect. "You've healed all my bruises and scrapes. And I have to say the hospital food here is actually good."

"You're sure?" The petite green haired nurse asked again, "I can't offer you a sponge bath?"

Several perverted thoughts came to Xander's mind as he heard the words sponge bath. In fact he had a full on fantasy that involved Rias, Akeno, Koneko, and Asia providing a sponge bath. Shaking himself out of that thought, he offered an apologetic smile to the nurse. "I doubt Buchou-chan would willingly let me go at the moment and she might react badly if she woke up to a cute stranger fondling me while I'm naked."

"Well, it's your loss," The nurse shrugged as she turned and walked away, her ass swaying as she did.

Xander wasn't even tempted and was able to pull his eyes away immediately. Instead he chose to watch Rias sleep. As per usual she had stripped out of her clothes much to the dismay of a few nurses. She had then proceeded to strip Xander's off as well, going so far as to destroy his boxers. Now she was fast asleep, apparently having a good dream given her bright smile. "She looks peaceful. I guess the Riser thing was worrying her more than she let on."

"Buchou was very worried." Koneko spoke just loud enough for Xander to hear, "She was worried she would lose you, Sempai."

"What?" Xander was more than a little surprised, "Don't you mean she was worried about losing all of us?"

"She was." Koneko confirmed with a nod of her head, "But she was more worried about losing you. So was I." The stoic girl revealed that last part in a whisper that she hoped Xander didn't hear.

"Well, I'm not going anywhere," Xander replied as he tried to absorb what Koneko was saying. 'They must be afraid of losing a brother figure.' "You can't get rid of me that easily. All your boyfriends will be utterly terrified of the shovel speech."

"Clueless." Koneko sighed as she rolled her eyes. "Can see everything, but utterly clueless."

* * *

"I was correct Xander would be a very interesting opponent," Sairaorg rubbed his chin as he replayed the scenes where Xander showcased his ruthlessness and brutality. "He's not as physically powerful as I am, but that will come with time and that Sacred Gear. Unfortunately, his true strength only seems to come out when his loved ones are harmed. Providing him with motivation would not be hard, but it would be distasteful."

"I stand by my assessment that he is not an interesting opponent but a deadly one," Sona was watching the same scenes as she tried to analyze her best friend/rival's pawn. She was rapidly coming to the conclusion that any plan involving him would have to avoid triggering his protective/vengeful side. And she absolutely would not allow any of her peerage to use Chainsaws no matter what. "He's a true Wild Card especially with the Boosted Gear. He is accustomed to using guile and trickery to fight enemies more powerful than himself. With the Boosts he will eventually be more powerful than any of his opposition. A prolonged battle would be potentially suicidal, even for you."

"Yes, taking him out quickly would be the wisest decision, but also boring and no challenge," Sairaorg nodded in agreement. Despite his extreme physical prowess he did not let his mind rot. He wasn't on Sona's level, but he wasn't dumb either. "You can't tell me that you aren't excited about facing him and putting your skills to the test."

"I would be lying if I said that," Sona replied as she took off her glasses to polish the lenses, "While Rias will likely remain the tactician, I have no doubt Xander's input influences her a great deal. They say two minds are better than one, even if that mind is a genius. I would like the chance to disprove that."

* * *

"Well, that certainly settles the issue between the Gremory and Phenex families," Sirizechs couldn't help the smile on his face. Being The Lucifer has tied his hands when it came to helping his sister. He couldn't publically do anything for fear setting off another Civil War. While the Blood Purist factions would be put out by the results of the match, their support among the other factions would take a hit. The match was supposed to be an easy win for Riser and instead it was a rather crushing defeat. "I trust that everyone will adhere to ALL the terms of the Match."

"Of course, Lucifer-sama, House Gremory would not think of backing out of our end," Despite the fact he was addressing his son, Zeoticus knew to keep it as formal and respectful as possible. It helped that he was happy for the outcome. Much happier than he had dared hoped he'd be. 'Rias-chan is free of that spoiled brat.'

"House Phenex will adhere to the original terms," Reginald was not the least bit pleased. "Reginald begs your pardon. There are many affairs of the Phenex family that must be tended to." Not even waiting to be dismissed, the blonde haired lord stepped just far enough away he could use a teleportation circle.

"I have the suspicion my husband is about to do something foolish," Ramona Phenex sighed as she chook her head, "Would you offer Rias-chan my congratulations on her victory? I hope she forgive my family for the actions of my Son and Husband."

"I will pass your congratulations along, Ramona." Venelana smiled warmly at her best friend. Despite how their husbands had butted heads she never stopped caring for her. "Perhaps you and Ravel-chan can visit more often now. I have missed our talks."

"I would like that," Ramona smiled warmly, "Now if you will excuse me I have to go check on my Ravel, she will likely be confused over the way she was eliminated. She has been so adamant that she will only find such pleasures with her future husband. She even refuses advice on toys."

"Oh, I do not envy you that conversation. My own daughter was of similar mind once." Venelana chuckled at the memories of the expanded talk she had to give Rias, Akeno, and Koneko. "I must take my leave as well. I want to see my baby and her peerage."

* * *

'How did I get here?' Xander looked around noting he was definitely at a Shinto Shrine. It took him only a moment to recognize it as the Kinkaku-ji, the Golden Shrine of Kyoto. He'd visited it once for the wedding of the slayer Kimiko who wanted Xander to stand in as her father while Buffy had been drafted as her mother. So it was no surprise that he recognized a Shinto Wedding procession or the fact that he was the lucky groom. Taking a glance at the bride he nearly stumbled over his own feet. Rias Gremory was radiant in her kimono, even with the headdress hiding her crimson locks. He opened his mouth to speak, but what came out seemed to be out of his control. "How did I ever get so lucky?"

"That's a question I have asked myself every day since you came into my life." Rias' face lit up in pure joy as she turned her gaze to Xander. "I want to thank you again. I know this isn't the wedding you were hoping for..."

"Yes it is. Any wedding where I am marrying the woman I love is the one I am hoping for," Xander cut her off before she continued. "It wouldn't matter if it was a simple exchange of vows or a grand spectacle of a state wedding."

"Fufufu, don't remind me of what my brother is demanding we perform after your other brides have their weddings," Rias' soft laugh was one of tenderness and amusement. "At least I get to marry you first and have you to myself for a whole week before Akeno sinks her claws in." There wasn't even the slightest bit of bitterness of Rias' voice, in fact she looked pleased.

'What in the Opening of Hellmouth is going?' Xander couldn't have helped being confused. Rias had been possessive of him since the day they met. 'In some ways she's more clingy than Buffy, Willow, and Anya combined.' She was very begrudgingly let Akeno have alone time with him. Her reaction to Asia was only a bit better. "Thank you for agreeing to that. If you had pressed I would have been monogamous to you. You do know that."

"Yes, but it would have hurt you to deny them," Rias' smile never faltered, "And Maou knows I understand how much it would hurt them not to be with you. I couldn't be that cruel to them. I love them almost as much as I love you, Xander-koi."

"I do love you, Rias-hime." Xander smiled before he leaned in to kiss his wife.

That was when the entire world froze. A moment later the entire scene began to burn with crimson flames, much like a photo that had caught fire. Then Xander was surrounded by the flames as the Boosted Gear Gauntlets manifested on his hands.

"It would seem my previous host has infected you with his dream of being a Harem King. Ah well, at least the Devils will support that idea." A deep boom voice sounded from the flames, "It's a pleasure to speak with you again, Alexander. It took forever to penetrate the defenses left by your friends. The Witch's were the most powerful, but the ones left by the insane Vampiress were intriguing in their effectiveness."

"Dru left defenses in my head?" Xander asked out of pure shock. "Hey, I have control of my voice again."

"Yes, you had to enter lucid dreaming in order to facilitate this meeting," the voice responded, "I must say you are a very intriguing host. You don't seek power, but you do not shy away from it. You act the fool, but you are rarely one. You see everything, but you are still oblivious…"

"I walk softly and carry the big stick. I have a sponge cake exterior, but a white creamy center." Xander barely suppressed his snicker. "Not that I don't appreciate the drama and mystery, but who the hell are you?"

"…I should have known," The voice sounded amused for a moment, "I am one of the Heavenly Dragons, the Dragon of Domination, the Red Dragon Emperor, Ddraig. My soul resides in the Sacred Gear known as the Boosted Gear."

"Oookaaay, so you were at one point one of the top ten ass kickers in this universe," Xander concluded after a moment, "Arguably you might have been in the top five."

"That is an accurate assessment," Ddraig replied. "Normally I begin speaking to my Host as soon as they reach a certain power threshold. However with you I had to work past those defenses, so I was delayed."

"I'd apologize, but they are there for a purpose," Xander shrugged, "So what's the what?"

"I don't know why I was expecting you to be more respectful towards me than you were the Old Watcher," Ddraig sighed heavily, "I am here to meet you and let you know that the White One will be seeking you soon. I would tell you more, but it is time you wake."

"Oh no, you aren't going to pull that bullshit with me, Ddraig." Xander growled his eyes flashing emerald for a moment as he unconsciously drew on the power of sealed in the Boosted Gear. "If you think the passive defenses are a pain, imagine what the active defenses are like."

"HAHAHAHA! I like you, Alexander. You are much like myself and Albion when we were alive," Ddraig declared obviously pleased with Xander's show of determination. "Now that we had spoken like this, I can speak with you in the waking world as well. I will explain everything in time, but it is truly time for you to wake. Your mate's Dam wants to speak with you."

* * *

"Ah, you are finally awake, Xander-san. You were particularly hard to rouse." Venelana Gremory smiled wide as she drew her hand back from his shoulder. Rias had risen a little while ago and had answered her father's summons. The rest of the peerage were currently bathing, something she intended to send Xander to do after they talked. "I just wanted to personally thank you for helping my daughter when her Father was unable."

'Damn, if she hadn't claimed to be Rias' mother I would have assumed she was her sister.' Xander had been struck by the similarities between Rias and her mother. The two had virtually identical bodies, face shape, eye shape, and excepting the color their hair was shockingly similar. There were differences in the mouth, nose, and cheek bones but otherwise the two could be virtual twins except for the coloring and age.

"Thanks aren't necessary. It's just what I would do for any of my girls. Buchou-chan is no different." Xander offered a smile. "Xander Harris-Hyoudou at your service, Lady Gremory."

"Oh my, Grayfia warned me you would be a charmer, Xander-kun," Venelana feigned having to fan herself to cool her thoughts. Offering her hand, she introduced herself. "I am Lady Venelana Gremory nee Bael. And it is certainly a pleasure to meet you."

"Not the first time I've been called a charmer by the mother of one of my girls," Xander said after he kissed the back of her hand. "So it's what I thought and Lord Gremory was unable to help Rias escape the contract, not that he didn't want to."

"Well… he could help to a certain extent, but not to the extent Rias or I would have wanted him to. Devil Contracts are brutal to any party that attempts to break them unless following one of a very few loopholes. Those penalties are even worse if the person breaking the contract is the Devil who forged the contract." Venelana sighed heavily. "In my husband's defense, no groom was named. Somehow Riser got the contract out of our vaults. It's hard to pressure a family into making their son break a contract when you have to publically support the contract. Worse when there is a clause that states the Father of the Bride can't encourage his daughter not to marry the groom."

Xander stared at Venelana for a few moments and shook his head. "I take it your husband is not normally so boneheaded as to make open ended contracts and this was a case good intentions biting everyone in the ass?"

"Precisely," Venelana nodded. She didn't mind the slip of profanity as she had much, much worse when the contract first became an issue. "Though with your permission, my husband will be have more leeway with supporting Rias."

"Why would he need my permission?" Xander asked even as he felt a cold chill run up his spine.

"Well, because Riser surrendered the contract specifically to you, Xander," Venelana stated, "And since Rias approved of it being transferred to you before he did so, that makes you the Groom."

"Oh, that's what I thought." Xander nodded absently before it sank in, "Wait! What?!"

* * *

"You wanted to speak with me, your grace?" Rias Gremory's tone was cold and formal as she addressed her father by his title. She had stopped calling him Father and Tou-san to his face a year prior. Despite winning the Rating Games and Xander getting Riser to surrender the contract, Rias couldn't let go of a lot of the resentment she had towards her father. She didn't hate him or anything like that. In fact she still dearly loved him, but she was still disappointed in him. At this moment, she wanted nothing more than to celebrate with her Peerage, but she had been summoned by her father once she woke. She'd dressed quickly, not even caring to fix her slight case of bed hair, and was now in his study reporting as if she were just a servant.

"Well, it seems you are still rightfully angry with me." Zeoticus Gremory sighed as he gestured to for Rias to have a seat. "I want you to know that I regret writing that contract from the deepest part of my soul. It was never meant to trap you into a loveless marriage. It was supposed to protect you from the underhanded methods some Devils would use to marry you and steal control of the House of Gremory."

"How was an arranged marriage supposed to protect me from the loveless part?" Rias fired back with only a bit of vitriol. "Riser and I just barely got along even before he became a clone of his father, whom you know I loathed before I could even speak properly." There were numerous tales of her throwing tantrums and bits of [Power of Destruction] at her Maoumother's husband as a baby and toddler.

"Well, I hadn't exactly chosen a Groom when I crafted the contract, Rias." Zeoticus admitted looking a little sheepish as his daughter had a point. "I left the contract open on that part. My plan was to give it to you for your birthday and let you choose the man. That was the reason for the clauses in the contract that had me giving my public support of the marriage as well as not taking sides in any argument you brought to me regarding your fiancé."

"Not take sides?" Rias' eyes glowed a fiery crimson for a moment, "You suggested that I trade away my Xander to placate Riser! How is that not taking a side?!"

Zeoticus swallowed nervously. He was a formidable High Class Devil, but he didn't have the *Power of Destruction* like his wife, children and even grandchild did. There was no question of who was the most powerful Devil in his marriage, it was Venelana. He was just lucky she liked being the dutiful wife and didn't henpeck him. It was also well know that Sirzechs dwarfed Zeoticus in power, skill, and charisma. As a Father he could not be prouder of his son, but was also terrified of him a little. His daughter was well on her way to being the next coming of Sirzechs, a fact made abundantly clear by the fact that she nearly matched her mother in power, despite the several thousand year difference in age and experience. So he had every right to be a little scared of his own daughter at the moment.

"I didn't actually suggest you trade Alexander away," Zeoticus corrected his daughter, "I merely suggested you make the offer of letting him control your peerage if you got equal control of his. We both know that was as likely as your brother hating you."

"You… are right." Rias was going to pounce on her father for lying, but it is exactly what he said. She had just been so stressed she did not look at the whole picture. "It still doesn't absolve you of a lot of your actions, your Grace. I would have liked to have you in my corner on this. Even if all you did was tell me that you're sorry about the contract. It just felt like you were in Riser's corner the whole time."

"Well, I am not sorry about the contract itself," Zeoticus said after a moment. "I am just sorry I told anyone about it and that it was stolen. I am also deeply sorry for the pain I has caused you by not openly contesting the marriage. I am so sorry I hid everything I did to fight the marriage from you, even the failed assassinations."

"What?" Rias stared at her father in shock. "You tried to have Riser killed?"

"Oh yes, twice. Indirectly through your mother." Zeoticus replied with a nod, "Unfortunately, I had to stop when Reginald targeted Koneko-chan. To be truthful I considered approaching Alexander to have Reginald and Riser killed. Grayfia was quite insistent that he could find a way."

"He offered…twice," Rias was still stunned that her father would have targeted Riser for assassination. "I had to beg him not to. I don't think he would have listened if I just made it an order."

"I had to do the same with your mother." Zeoticus nodded in understanding, "She did not take the two failed attempts well. I had to convince her that we would stop the wedding, even if we had to attack the groom at the ceremony."

"Tou-san?" Rias didn't realize that she was crying until her father came around his desk and wiped the tears away.

"But we won't need to do that now, will we Rias? You have a much better fiancé now." Zeoticus smiled as he watched comprehension dawn on his daughter's face. "Though, if you change your mind, just let me know. I can act a little more directly against Alexander than I could Riser."

"Attempting to hurt my Xander is an unforgivable offense!" Gone were Rias' tears as she registered a veiled threat against her precious pawn. Her entire body glowed with eerie crimson aura as her hair whipped about.

"Whoa! I won't be acting against Alexander unless you ask me too," Zeoticus placed his hands up defensively as he took a step back. 'She's as bad a Sirzechs when someone threatens her or Millicas.'

"And that will never happen," Rias responded after a moment as she gauged her father's reaction. Calming herself down she then processed something her father didn't tell her directly. "Xander is my fiancé?"

* * *

"Ah, Grayfia-chan, have you come to celebrate my Ria-tan's victory?" Sirzechs asked as he poured himself a nice snifter of brandy. "Despite your claims to Xander-kun's skill, I was expecting Rias to lose. I had gone to the effort of procuring a Griffin so she could run away from the wedding. And when Riser made the mistake of trying to stop him, I was going to eliminate him for attempted murder of an heiress." Sirzechs chuckled as he admitted to his plot to murder Riser. Not like anyone in Hell could even think of censor him for it. If the other three Satans stood together they might prevail over him, but Serafall would fight on his side. "But you were right. And he did even better than you hoped."

"I am sorry, Sirzech-sama, as much as I would love to celebrate with you I am bringing some disturbing news." Grayfia was subdued as she spoke. "On guard rotation it was discovered that some unknown parties successful raided Epsilon Facility. None of the prisoners remain and the guards on duty were brutally slaughtered if the blood splatter is an indicated."

Sirzechs almost asked her if it was a joke, but knew better. His wife had a sense of humor, but she never joked about important matters. "I see. Who knew of the location of Epsilon Facility?"

"The Satans, Lord Phenex, Lord Astaroth, Lord Glaysa-Labolas, Lord Bael, and myself are the only ones aware of the location of Epsilon Facility." Grayfia recited, "The guards are sent and retrieved by Magic Circle so they have no idea where they are and it's underground so there is no possible way to scout it aerially"

"Well, it was mostly low level Fallen Angels that were imprisoned there," Sirzechs replied, "Issue warnings to all the garrisons and the city guards. They are authorized to use lethal force."

* * *

"You've got a very nice private bath," Xander was admiring the rather massive bath. Not only was there a Japanese style bath area, but a conventional walk in shower that could you could hold a party in. There was also a western style bathtub big enough for four people, and Jacuzzi style hot tub. Currently he was sitting on a stool behind Rias as he scrubbed her back. "Makes the one in my house seem like roughing it."

"Well, I am a bit spoiled by my parents," Rias admitted with slight giggle. Some people would consider how her parents treated her to be well beyond spoiling, but for as much as they gave her they demanded just as much. It created a balance in her that many other nobles ever attained. Riser's attitudes were more common among the Devil Houses than Rias wanted to admit. There were also times that she knew she acted like a spoiled princess, and this was one of them. "But I have never considered bathing with you to be roughing it. In fact if I was alone in here, that would be me roughing it."

"You flatter me, Buchou-chan," Xander chuckled as he grabbed a sprayer and started to rinse her back and then wetting her hair in preparation to wash it as was their ritual. "So, how did the talk with your father go?"

"He explained everything to me," Rias started to explain but then Xander's fingers began working their magic on her scalp. 'How does he make this feel so good?' "Oh Maou… I wasn't happy that he didn't feel he could tell me, but…mmmmhmmmm… I think he just didn't understand how much it was hurting me… oooh… He told me something that I didn't immediately real~ize." Rias moans were making speech impossibly, but there was absolutely no way she'd ask Xander to stop. "You're my new fiancé~!"

"Yeah, your mother informed me of that too," Xander replied as he tried to think unsexy thoughts. 'Holy Twinkies! She is even more responsive than usual. I so need a cold shower.' Unfortunately he just couldn't keep any unsexy thought long enough to have any sort of an effect. "That means any time you want to break the contract, you can."

"Mmmmm… I knoooow… but I don't think I want to break it now." Rias replied with through her moans. "But I will… if you want me to…" 'Please say no. Please say no. I want more time with you before courters try to swoop in.' Rias would have offered a prayer to Aphrodite, but she was sure the goddess would mess with it somehow.

* * *

"Why isn't she praying to me?" Aphrodite asked. "I have Eros on standby with the lust arrows! Doesn't this girl want to be the first one to have his babies?"

"Well, you're definitely pregnant." Hephaestus noted as he handed her the jar of Marmite to spread on her Oreo cookies. He really wished he could say that was a hint that she was pregnant, but she had been addicted to the flavor combo for decades. "You only meddle that much when you have bun in the oven."

"Oooh… that sounds good for dinner… cinnamon buns and ramen." Aphrodite said as she grabbed the jar of marmite and started spreading fine layers of it on her cookies.

* * *

"I don't mind being your fiancé, Buchou-chan." Xander answered the unasked question. "It'll keep any would be suitors off your back until you find the right man." Normally he would have added or woman to the statement, but it was very clear that while Rias was bisexual when it came to carnal attraction, her romantic side demanded a man in her life. "So for now, you can have the fun of introducing me as your fiancé and explain how I kept blowing up Riser's head until I won your hand."

"Fufufufu, not the most romantic of stories, but it will keep the smarter Devils away," Rias couldn't help but picture the faces of most of the heirs she knew turning green as she explained how she was now engaged to Xander. "But what if I want to make the Ladies jealous?"

"Just tell them I did this." Xander said before he turned her around bodily, lifted her into his lap, and then leaned in pressing his lips to hers in a passionate and romantic kiss.

Rias had been so stunned she couldn't respond at first. She hadn't expected him to make the first move. As he began to retreat, Rias was having any of it. She laced her fingers in his hair and pulled him into a much deeper kiss. 'Maou, if he kisses me like this all the time, I might just get addicted.'

* * *

Author Note: And there we have it, Rias and Xander's first kiss.


	13. Daily Life with a Devil fiancé

**Disclaimer**: I do not own High School DxD, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Angel, Harry Potter, Naruto, and Rifts

**Major AU**: Do not expect this story to strictly follow canon for High School DxD.

**Key**: "Talking" 'Thought' [Sacred Gear] (Pailamancy or Telepathy) *Technique*

**Daily Life with a Devil fiancé.**

Rias Gremory woke with smile on her face, just as she had for the last week since the Rating Game. Propping herself up on her elbow she stared down at her fiancé as he slumbered. Not for the first time she had to reassure herself she wasn't dreaming. As before the slight bit of pain as she nipped her tongue just made her smile grow larger. Leaning down planted her lips on his to literally kiss him awake. It might have taken a minute, but Rias would never consider it wasted time.

"That is one of the best ways to wake up," Xander murmured as Rias's lips pulled away from his own. This was not the first time he was woken with a kiss. Rias had done the same thing every morning she managed to wake up before him since the Rating Game. If he woke first, she would insist on a kiss before they got dressed. "You know if you keep doing things like this, I might just end up spoiled."

"Hmmm, good point," Rias put finger to chin as she pretended to think, "Well, I will just have to take that risk, Xander-koi."

"Well, if you're willing to take the risk, then so am I, Rias-hime," Xander assented as he leaned up and kissed the tip of her nose. 'If I am drafted as boyfriend, I am going to do the job right.' "Well, we better get showered if we are going to make it to school on time. You take yours while I get at least some PT in."

Rias practically melted into Xander's arms as he said her name. She had been surprised the first time he did it and nearly fell off her chair. He still called her Buchou-chan as well, but it was clear that it was affectionately. "You know we could bathe together, save time and water."

"You know that we wouldn't do either if we did that," Xander chuckled at the suggestion, "And I asked you to stop tempting me like that. We need to wait before we make that step in our relationship." Despite smiling warmly as he gently admonished her, Xander's thoughts were turning to the real reason he delayed. 'I am not going to take advantage of being the rebound guy.'

Rias pouted as she slowly pulled herself away from her fiancé. She was a little disappointed she couldn't seduce him, but was far from angry about it. "Fiiine~! We'll wait, but don't think I will make it easy on you."

"Rias, you make it hard just by being you," Xander admitted as he rolled to his side and watched Rias gather up a towel and wrap it around her naked body. "Pun and double entendre intended… I promise it won't be very long. We just have to work a few things out."

"Alright, but don't take too long or one morning I'll take matters in hand," Rias' practically dripped with sensuality as she made her way out the door.

"I'll keep that in mind." Xander said after Rias was out of view. Once alone he rolled out of bed and got into position for pushups.

"Keep what in mind, Xander-kun?" Asia Argento asked. She had been walking past Xander's room and heard him speak. Of course she was blushing nearly brilliant red as Xander was doing his pushups while naked.

"Nothing important, Asia-chan," Xander replied as he continued his exercises. "Hey, could you do me a favor and sit on my back while I do these?"

"Sure, I'd be happy to help you, Xander-kun," Asia practically squealed in joy as she moved and quickly sat on his back. 'Rias might have become his first fiancé, but Akeno-nee told me all about Devils having harems. I won't lose out.'

"So, how's my favorite ex-nun this morning?" Xander genuinely liked Asia. She was so much like Tara it would have been impossible not to. In fact if he didn't know better he'd swear the girl was Tara reincarnated. Then again he could be mistaken.

"I am doing well, Xander-kun," Asia was thoroughly enjoying her job providing extra weight atop Xander's muscled back. If there was a sin Asia was prone to it was Lust but limited to just Xander. Well, there might have been Envy as well, but that was focused on girls who caught Xander's eye. "Hephaestus-dono sent the Necklace he made for me. Other than it's name I have no clue what what's supposed to do."

"Well, that isn't too strange for an Olympian," Xander said as he continued his pushups, "I was surprised he told me what my eye did, not that he told me everything. So what's the name?"

"The Chains of Prometheus," Asia said as she fidgeted with the simple gold chain around her neck.

"Kind of fitting. Prometheus was one of the Titans who fought alongside Zeus against Cronos and his Titans." Xander recited what he knew of Greek mythology, "He fell from Zeus' grace when he gave the gift of fire to mortals. He was chained to a mountain top and two eagles would peck out his liver daily. Eventually he was freed by Heracles and was accepted back to Olympus as Zeus had already forgiven him, but couldn't go against his own decree."

"Wow," Asia was awed at Xander's knowledge of mythology. She did indeed see the parallels between her story and Prometheus'. "What do you think the necklace does?"

"Probably give you a way to restrain your enemies," Xander completed his last two handed pushup and started the one handed version trading hands between them so he evened out the exercise. "Prometheus was not a weak Titan, but he wasn't in the same league as Atlas, so you'll probably be able to capture most enemies unless they are insanely strong."

"Well… that would be helpful in defending myself," Asia couldn't find fault with Xander's assumption. "I'll just have to experiment with it later."

* * *

"The Bracers of Puissance?" Kiba Yuuto read the card that came with the absolutely gorgeous silver armguards stamped with the kanji for versatile. 'I wonder what powers Hephaestus-dono imbued these with.' While Kiba would normally heed the advice of beware Greeks bearing gifts, after meeting the God of Smiths he couldn't see the man actually harming someone unless they started it. Now if it had come from Xander, Kiba would have been more cautious. He knew a prank was coming from that man… eventually. "Well might as well see what you can do."

Lifting each of the surprisingly light bracers out of the box, Kiba carefully donned them. As he expected them, they fit perfectly. The solid metal plate protected his forearms and elbow while there was fine chainmail that wrapped around his wrist and another sold plate protected the back of his hand and soft leather improve the grip of his palm. Testing his flexibility he noticed that he was not hindered in the least and the bracers actually supported his wrists when needed.

"Hmm, even if they are just some limited armor, they would nice," Kiba said as he laid his shook his head. "Well, might as well wear them while I follow Xander's advice. Maybe missing my mark won't hurt as much if my wrists have support."

Moving over to the rack of different weapons that Xander had installed in the Dojo of the Old School Building, Kiba grabbed a Heavy Mace. Xander had pointed out that a sword was not always the most ideal weapon and that he should become familiar with all forms of weaponry rather than just swords. It had taken only a few spars with Xander switching weapon types for Kiba to understand the point. So now the Knight was practicing to become at least proficient in a variety of weapons. However the moment Kiba had taken the mace his mind was flooded with all the knowledge a true master of the weapon would know. If he had to compare it to anything it was much like his sword skills, but just not quite as refined. Before then he would say that he was barely adequate with the bludgeoning weapon.

"That's interesting." Kiba muttered as he put the mace back and grabbed the battle axe. As before the knowledge flooded his mind. As he put it back a grin split his face. "Oh, that's nice. I will have to thank him if we meet again."

* * *

Rudolphus Phenex was the literal black sheep of the Phenex Family. Like his mother he complexion black, not the chocolate brown that humans called black, but actually black. His mother was what some fantasy enthusiasts would have called a Drow Elf before she became a Devil in service to Reginald. He was the same gold blonde as his father, with blood red eyes and the pointed ears of an elf. From his father he inherited the powers of the Phenex Family as well the man's shrewd business sense. From his mother he inherited her skills with manipulation and mind magic.

"I am very disappointed with you Riser." Rudolphus muttered darkly as he looked around his younger brother's bedroom. Anything that had even resembled a dragon or gun had been removed, even the crossbow that he had give Riser for his fifth birthday which Rudolphus knew he treasured. "I went to all that effort to steal the contract for you because you wanted to marry Rias and you lost the Rating Game to a jumped up mortal."

Riser peaked out from his covers "A jumped up mortal? Did you see what he did to Yubelluna? To Isabella and Siris? Xander-sama is not anyone to cross, even for Mother and Father."

"For being the strongest Phenex male of this generation you are quite pathetic," Rudolphus sneered as he took his brother's disheveled state. "You've been cowering like some wet behind the ears whelp who has heard one too many Winchesters story." Reaching down he grabbed the scruff of Riser's neck and pulled him out of the bed. "I came here to give you a chance to win your bride back and you WILL do it!"

"Riser does not take orders from you, Brother." Riser's nostrils flared as he stared Rudolphus in the eye. Shoving the dark man off of him Riser dusted imaginary dirt off his bedclothes. "Riser is a man of his word. Riser surrendered the contract to Xander-sama and it is done. Riser wants nothing more to do with your plans. If you continue to pressure Riser, he will remind you of the last time we fought."

"So you will just bow to that low class trash and surrender what I gave you?" Rudolphus snarled. "Fine, you never deserved the pleasure of owning her anyway." He spun on his heels and stormed out of the room, pausing at the door. "I'll be sure to show you how a proper devil treats his property."

"Just leave brother, Riser can learn nothing of importance from you," Riser snarled back. Once Rudolphus was gone he reached for the bell on this nightstand. In moments his maids appeared, "Burent, Miriam, my brother is plotting something against Rias. Send whoever is willing to go to protect her and Xander-sama."

"Lord Riser won't you be going?" Burent asked clearly concerned for her master.

"Oh Maou no, Riser couldn't." Riser was beginning to look panicked as he contemplated leaving his room. "There are guns in the human world and Riser's head will explode again. NOOOOO!" he cried out and dove under the covers again.

"I will comfort Master, you ask the others if they are willing to warn the Gremory Peerage." Miriam told her fellow maid.

* * *

Absent mindedly, Xander got in line at the cafeteria. While most students brought bentos from home, some couldn't for whatever reason. The Kouh Academy had a kitchen that made generic box lunches as well as selling treats and drinks. Since he'd forgotten to grab his bento before heading out the door, Xander was in line and dreading missing out on the girl's cooking.

"Xander-san, what are you doing in line?" a third year boy that was standing in front of him asked.

"I forgot to grab my bento," Xander grumbled, "In my defense, I was putting the final touches on my homework. Still feel awful, I'm not sure which girl was cooking today, but they'll take it personally."

"Oh, well, I was asking because Rias-sama sitting at her usual table and she looks like she has an extra bento." The boy pointed out. "I thought you'd like to know."

"Maou, how did I miss that?" Xander shook his head clearly chagrined. "Thank you… Minato-sempai?"

"You are welcome, Xander-san," Minato nodded with a smile on his gentle face, "Oh, and Yukari-chan says you better take good care of Rias-sama or else."

"Yukari-san? About yay tall, short black hair, wears a crucifix in her hair and combat boots?" Xander asked, "You have interesting taste in girlfriends, Minato-san. She's a ball buster."

"She's my sister," Minato was used to people making that mistake. Yukari made a habit of chasing off most girls who tried to approach him. Something about how none of them were gifted enough. She tried to get him to approach Rias and Akeno, but Minato just didn't want to date the school idols. He was happy just studying.

"Then I feel for you man," Xander patted the older boy on the shoulder, "Especially as she is almost as bad as Matsuda and Motohama. Your first girlfriend is going to end up molested by her."

"I wish I could say you're wrong, Xander-san, but I can't." Minato sighed as the metaphorical cloud hung over his head.

* * *

"Sorry about flaking on you, Rias-hime," Xander apologized as he sat down opposite of the gorgeous redhead, placing a Pepsi in front of her as he did so. "My mind has been in a million different places today."

"You didn't flake on me, Xander-koi," Rias couldn't help but smile as Xander took the seat she had literally been saving for him. More than one admirer had been sent off with a mental nudge. Taking the Pepsi she cracked it open and took a long pull. As she did so, she slid the Bento she made for Xander to him. "So what have you been thinking about?"

Xander opened the bento and nearly started drooling. Rias always packed him a mix of Japanese and Western foods and today was no different. There was Onigiri and Tempura, what looked to be Tamales wrapped in traditional corn husks as well as what he knew was Rias' homemade Twinkies. "I was thinking we're engaged and never even went on a date. Seems kinda wrong. So I wanted to know if you'd like to have one Saturday?"

"A date?" Rias asked as she broke apart her chopsticks. "You want to go on a date with me because we're engaged?"

"No," Xander shook his head, "I've wanted to take you out on a date for quite some time." Xander explained as he searched for his chopsticks, only to be interrupted in his search by Rias holding some of his tempura for him to eat. Shrugging slightly, he let her feed him.

"I would love to go out on a date with you!" Rias beamed as she enthusiastically responded. 'I'm going on a date. A date with Xander.' "Can we go on a drive date? I have my license."

"Ufufufu, you two are just so adorable," Akeno took the seat beside Rias as she set down the two bento boxes she had brought. "How bold of you to feed Xander-kun in public like this, Buchou. It's like your staking claim on him."

"Well, technically she is my fiancé. So her staking a public claim is not so odd." Xander mused as he finally found a set of chop sticks. He quickly got ready to feed Rias in return for her feeding him. Expertly picking up one of her salmon onigiri he offered it to her and smiled as she took the bite. 'I plan to enjoy it as long as it lasts.'

In Xander's mind it was a foregone conclusion that Rias would eventually drop him like a hot potato. She was way out of league is every conceivable way. She could attract a much better match for her once she moved past the slight hero worship she was attaching to him. However he was smart enough not to piss her off by spurning all her advances. He knew very well that Hell Dimensions had no fury like a woman scorned, and that was before adding immense amount of power to the mix. Besides, he couldn't help but fall hard for the girl, even harder than he did for Buffy.

"Well, claimed or not, I am not giving up on getting some quality time with my Kohai." Akeno said she opened her spare bento. Apparently she had cooked for Xander as well having made a gyudon bowl for him that she surreptitiously warmed with a bit of magic. Gathering a good bite for Xander on chopsticks she held them out. "Say ahhhh Xander-kun."

"Akeno!" Rias had to swallow her food quickly, "You are entirely too forward with my Xander."

"You're just being greedy, Buchou," Akeno's smile never left her face as she shoved the food in Xander's mouth when he did open it. "You should share the wealth."

'An apocalypse must be around the corner.' Xander thought as he chewed thoughtfully. With any other girl he might have made a show of spitting out the food, but he knew Rias would be angrier about him hurting Akeno's feelings than she was with Akeno for barging her way in. Rias was like a Mother to most of the Peerage, with Xander himself being the exception.

Unnoticed until that moment Asia had sat on Xander's supposed blind side. She had quickly become someone he trusted so much he couldn't register her as a threat. Once he had finished the bite of the beef bowl, enjoying how Akeno could make even a simple dish into a delicacy, he opened his mouth to stop the fight. That was when Asia had struck and Xander now had a mouth full of lasagna. 'And now the former Nun is in on the act. Definitely incoming apocalypse.'

"How is it Xander-kun?" Asia asked as the man was forced to chew again, "I wanted to make something from my childhood for you."

"Ufufufu, it seems Asia-chan has struck while we were distracted." If Akeno was upset over Asia's involvement nobody could have told.

"So it seems," Rias shook her head at the scene. As much as she wanted Xander completely to herself all the time, Rias knew it would be impossible. Monogamy was just not done in the Underworld. It would decrease the already incredibly low birthrate and even if Xander wasn't a pureblood Devil he would be sought out by many devils and yokai. "Alright, I will call a truce. We can all feed Xander."

"Oh Maou, I am going to get so fat with all this good food," Xander playfully bemoaned causing all three girls to giggle.

* * *

"You know you could join us at lunch, Koneko-chan," Xander said as he watched smaller girl work on the heavy Muay Thai bag. And not for the first time he wanted to shoot his inner pervert. She was only fourteen and he really shouldn't be having thoughts about how attractive she was. It wasn't just physically either. Koneko was an odd mix of Cordelia, Oz, and Buffy that he really just liked having around. "You're one of the gang, and I'd really like having you there."

"… I can't cook." Koneko said softly as she delivered a vicious combination to the bag that had it rocking for a moment. "Akeno-sempai has to make meals for me to heat in my microwave or I eat out."

"And that affects eating lunch with us how?" Xander was a little confused. He knew a lot of people who couldn't cook. Dawn was on the top of that list given she had the weirdest palate he'd ever heard of, let alone witnessed. "It's not like I eat my own cooking at lunch."

"They are all feeding you and I feel left out." Koneko sighed heavily as she admitted that. She still wasn't sure what she felt for Xander. She knew was a pervert, but he wasn't a massive one like Issei had been. What she knew was when the others fed him she felt a pang of jealousy.

"Well, I could ask them to feed you, too." Xander pretended not to understand what Koneko meant. 'I really need to ask Aphrodite if someone has been casting love spells.'

"Clueless." Koneko muttered as she went back to working the bag with even more fervor than before.

* * *

"Well, this is awkward," Xander groaned as a pair of underwear fell out of the top of his locker and landed on his face. It wasn't the first time it had happened. It was a rare week in Kouh Academy where there weren't at least three pairs of freshly worn panties in his locker. He knew Kiba suffered similarly. Normally, Xander just threw the set away and then washed his face. Today was a bit different as he'd caught a too familiar scent from the thong. "Rias?"

* * *

Akeno Himejima was staring at the jewelry box she found in her locker. Of course being one of the Ojou-samas of Kouh Academy, she had quite a few admirers who would love to give her such a gift even if anonymously. It was one of the many reasons she placed so many wards on her locker. After all she didn't want to deal with some rich boy who would try to buy her affections. Honestly, until recently she thought she would never want to actually be with any boy romantically. In her experience, Himejima's were not mean to have happy romances. Her parents certainly didn't get to have one. It was why she became a tease, it was easy to keep boys at arm's length when they were always off balance. She let Kiba and Gasper close, but they were both little brothers and would never be anything more. As for Xander, keeping him distant was impossible even if she wanted to try, but he was with Rias. So she knew better than to hope that he had gotten her a piece of jewelry. Still a small treacherous part of her wanted it to be.

'Don't be silly, given my wards it's either from Rias or Hephaestus is being funny with how he delivers my item.' Akeno admonished herself as she grabbed the box and opened it. Her eyes widened in awe as she took in the gorgeous golden charm bracelet. Gently lifting it from the cushion she could see the individual links of the chain were covered in tiny sun and lightning kanji. There were already charms hanging on the chain: a cat, a sword, a bat, a pair of clasped hands, a crown, and a dragon. All of them were gold, but there was hear shaped ruby on the crown and dragon. As she wrapped the chain around her left wrist, a message appeared before her eyes.

_Blessed daughter of Shuri, I aided the Olympian Master of the Forge create this gift for you. Know that I have never wanted you to be persecuted, even after you became a Devil. It is my wish that you use this Yumi to serve your Mistress and to aid the Defender of Man. As long as you do, neither you nor those you care for need fear any of the other Yumi. With all the blessing my Light and Flame may bestow on you, Amaterasu_

_Priestess of Thunder, I find I like that moniker of yours. I have added my own blessings to this Yumi so that it's powers may better reflect the gifts you received from your father. I won't anger you by mentioning his name, but he is a powerful individual, but you will one day surpass his prowess even without my aid. With all the blessings of Thunder and Lightning, Raiden._

"Yumi? This is a bracelet, not a yumi." Akeno absently muttered. As if in refute her statement the charm bracelet sparked with electricity before it vanished from her wrist. At that very same moment a traditional cherry wood bow appeared in her hand, identical to the many Yumi that were on display in any number of Shinto shrines. To say Akeno was shocked was an understatement. Her mother had trained her in the ways of the Miko, but since she had been reincarnated, Akeno had avoided touching any of the Yumi for fear the bows would burn her as a malevolent spirit. She could feel the power thrumming in this Yumi, but it was in no way threatening to her. She didn't even realize she was crying until later.

* * *

"You wanted to see me, Buchou-chan?" Xander asked as he entered the ORC Clubroom. As per the rules that had been set down, he used her club title during club activities. He'd been the one to suggest that, mostly so Rias would remember that she was still his boss. Something he didn't want her forgetting in the heat of Battle. He'd seen how that ended with Robin and Faith, it hadn't been pretty. Faith was still livid at the Watcher for effectively coddling her because of their short relationship. Plus there was the fact it would make reverting to just being a Pawn much easier when Rias finally moved on.

"This isn't official business, Xander-koi." Rias looked up from her homework with a smile as Xander entered. The redhead had her glasses on as usual when she was trying to focus, not that she needed them to see. Rising from her chair she came around the desk and then sat on it, giving Xander a good view that thong he found in her locker had been the one she wore to school. "I was hoping for some quality alone time with my fiancé."

"You are not playing fair, Rias-hime." Xander couldn't help but look. He was a guy. He liked looking at all of Rias' naughty bits. "And you certainly aren't making it easy for me not to take advantage of you."

"Good, I want you to take advantage of me, Xander-koi." Rias purrs out as she started to loosen her tie. "Don't worry, I'm not asking for traditional sex, just a make out session with a lot of heavy petting." Tossing the tie aside, she began working working on her corset, "And I want to do it topless."

"To-topless?" Xander stuttered out as his brain threatened to shut down. Seeing Rias nod as she tossed her corset in the chair, any reservation that Xander had left melted at that moment. He shed his jacket and started unbuttoning his shirt.

Rias stood up from the desk and shrugged off her cloak as she watched Xander shed his shirt. While she loved his physique what really turned her on about her fiancé were the scars. Devil females were hardwired to find battle scars to be sexy. So while she appreciated his completely fit body, it was the numerous scars from claws, blades, and spells that made her drool from both set of lips. Rias couldn't help herself as she all but tackled Xander back into the couch, claiming his lips in a heated kiss even as she was dry humping him.

* * *

**Author Note**: Just a bit of a filler chapter.

**Yumi no Raiden  
Bearer**: Akeno Himejima  
**Manufacturer**: Hephaestus with help from Amaterasu and Raiden  
**Appearance**: A Black japanese bow made from cherry wood. It has no string  
**Powers**:  
**Sacred Gear**: The Yumi no Raiden is a Shinto Sacred Gear despite the person who did most of the crafting.  
**Power of Thunder**: While Akeno possesses the Yumi no Raiden her Lightning and Holy Lightning are increased in power by 50%  
**Arrows of War**: Akeno can use the bow to launch arrows made from Lightning, Holy Lightning, or the Flames of Amaterasu. These arrows will never strike an ally and if redirected will dissipate  
**Arrows of Peace**: Akeno can create arrows that will provide various minor blessings including (but not limited to): Increased Fertility, Good Luck, Protection, Purification, Health, and Wealth.  
**Music of the Kami**: Making a motion as if plucking a string will cause a musical note that will cause all beings with evil intentions a great amount of pain.  
**Balance Breaker**: As a Shinto Sacred gear, the Yumi no Raiden may have a Balance Breaker but it is unknown at this point  
**Charm Bracelet**: When not in use the Yumi no Raiden is a charm bracelet with charms that represent her precious people. In this form, the Yumi Raiden still provides the abilities of the Power of Thunder as well as augmenting her spell casting by 50%.

**The Bracers of Puissance  
Bearer**: Kiba Yuuto  
**Manufacturer**: Hephaestus with the help of Athena  
**Appearance**: A pair of Adamantine arm braces with the Kanji for Versatile  
**Powers:  
Flexible Skill**: The bracers effectively allow Kiba to use any melee weapon with the same skill he shows with the sword. It doesn't even matter if he's never heard of the weapon before.  
**Throw Anything**: Kiba can throw any melee weapon he can hold with great accuracy, speed, and power. His range is limited to only a hundred feet, but it can still be a surprise.  
**The Adamantine Touch**: Any weapon that Kiba uses acts as if composed of Adamantine, making it neigh unbreakable.  
**Fist of the Mace**: In unarmed combat Kiba's fists hit like a heavy mace made of adamantine  
**Unorthodox Wielder**: Kiba does not need to use his hands to effectively wield a weapon, he can use his bare feet, backs of the knees, elbows, armpits, and even his mouth.

**The Protective Chains of Prometheus**  
**Bearer**: Asia Argento  
**Manufacturer:** Hephaestus from the chains that held Prometheus at the Titan's request.  
**Appearance**: A simple gold chain necklace when it is dormant. When it is active it is eight massive glowing golden chains that seem to sprout from Asia's back  
**Powers**:  
**Chains of Binding**: Asia can direct the chains to restrain any being she can see. The chains are strong enough to actually hold Fenrir. However unless properly anchored the restrained being can just swing Asia around.  
**Tentacles**: The Chains can act as additional limbs and can allow Asia to hold Holy Items without being damaged.  
**Sealing and Spell Casting**: The chains can be used to create seals and cast spells as if they were Asia's hands. Asia can multitask allowing her to use several of the chains on different tasks.  
**Chain Swinging/Walking**: Asia's creativity allows her to use the chains like legs as well as basic brachiation.  
**Automatic Defense**: The chains move on their own to block attacks that would strike Asia or those next to her.


	14. Date Night

Xander DxD 014

Disclaimer: I do not own High School DxD, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Angel, Harry Potter, Naruto, and Rifts

Major AU: Do not expect this story to strictly follow canon for High School DxD.

Key: "Talking" 'Thought' [Sacred Gear] (Pailamancy or Telepathy) *Technique*

Author Note:

Date Night

"You realize the Princess is absolutely head over heels for you, right?" Raynare queried even as she thrust a low powered *Light Spear* towards Xander's chest. She had been training with Xander, Kiba, and Koneko in all forms of combat. Koneko concentrated on unarmed combat, and boy was that ever humiliating as the tiny platinum blonde could overpower her without even trying. All manner of swords and spears were the focus of Kiba's tutoring, Raynare hadn't even known there were multiple styles of spear fighting before he began. As for Xander, he was teaching her how to integrate all her skills into fighting. Each training session was brutal, requiring her to be healed by Asia due to the strain on her muscles not to mention the bruises, cuts, and a few fractures.

"It's just hero worship." Xander deftly evaded the incoming thrust only to be surprised by a knee to the stomach. 'Damn, she learns quick.' Xander grunted in pain as he was driven back. The blow had been powerful, but not enough to drive the air from his lungs. He attempted to capitalize on the sudden opening Raynare presented, but found himself on the end of two *Light Spears* almost touching his throat. "Very good, you win this spar, Raynare-nee."

"Yay," Raynare deadpanned, "I can beat a Low Class Devil who is holding back."

"Well, it's better than you have been doing," Xander shrugged as he grabbed his sports bottle from the picnic table. Behind the Old School House was an excellent place to spar as it was generally out of view. "Besides you're holding back on the power level of your spears, so it equals out."

"Yeah, and I can take comfort in the fact that romantically, you are a dumbass," Raynare grabbed her own sports bottle as she took a long drink before continuing, "It isn't hero worship, Xander-kun. I've been around quite a few Fallen who hero-worshipped Uncle Zazz. She is nothing like any of them."

Xander almost opened his mouth to refute Raynare. While she was much like Anya in that she was born into a different time, Raynare differed in that she was very well versed in human nature. "Then who would you compare her to?"

"That you'd be aware of?" Raynare paused as she considered for a moment, "She's Jessica to your Roger."

"A Roger Rabbit reference?" Xander wasn't sure if Raynare was joking or not, or whether he was being insulted. "Seriously?"

"Well, Mary Jane and Peter would probably be a better comparison considering your sense of humor," Raynare flashed a cheeky grin as she altered her answer. She then shot Xander a serious look. "The point is that yeah most people think she's out of your league, but she's adamant you're the One. Do not fuck it up by letting those insecurities of yours get in the way, otouto"

"It's just hard to accept that any of them could want me that way." Xander shook his head, "I mean I am just…"

Raynare performed a perfect Gibbs Head slap on Xander before he could continue.

"…Right, right, stop listening to Tony Harris," Xander nodded. "Please tell me my onee-san is not a Brocon."

"Not in the slightest, otouto." Raynare replied with a smile that widened as she continued. "I'm in an online relationship with a cutie… and yes I am sure I'm not being catfished or Moloced."

"That's good." Xander nodded. For some reason he literally put Raynare in the sibling, no romantic interest at all, category. He wasn't even sure how she really got there. It was like he just understood they would never gel as a couple, like his reaction to Aika Kiryuu. There was just no romantic or sexual interest despite that he could admit both were hot in their own ways. "Hopefully I will get to meet them soon."

"Soon enough. He's under house arrest by his guardian because he accidentally caused some incidents with his powers." Raynare explained, "He's due to be released in the next six months."

"Ah, so a supernatural like us," Xander nodded. He wasn't going to judge the guy based on anything until he met him, even if being placed under house arrest was not a good sign. "That will make the shovel talk easier."

"Xander Lavelle Harris-Hyoudou!" Raynare went with the middle naming in order to express how upset that statement made her.

* * *

Xander Harris was waiting by front yard gate to the Hyoudou house dressed exactly as Rias had asked him to, in American casual. That consisted of blue jeans, trainers, red t-shirt, and a denim jacket. It was the first day of the Summer break, but also the day he promised to go on a Drive date with Rias. He was more than a bit curious what kind of car Rias had, as he'd never seen her drive at all. She seemed to prefer walking or teleporting everywhere, so he'd naturally assumed she didn't own any vehicles.

"Hey there Handsome, need a lift?" Rias called out as she drove up in a fully restored 1955 Ford Fairlane with a crimson and white paintjob. Wearing a crimson singlet and black leather miniskirt, Rias was definitely dressed to impress without going overboard. With a smile on her face she lowered her pair of sunglasses and visibly checked Xander out. 'No wonder there are so many new applications to join the ORC.'

"Eh, I don't know. I am waiting here for my date," Xander playful teasing Rias a bit. Putting out his hand at her height he continues. "She's about yay tall."

"I am that tall." Rias responded with a grin wanting to see where she was going with this.

"So you are." Xander replied as if surprised. "She has the most amazing red hair, not what most people call a redhead, but actually crimson."

"Well, my hair is crimson," Rias responded as she played with a lock of her hair. "Is she pretty?"

"No… she's gorgeous." Xander had paused for a moment to see Rias' slight frown turn into a brilliant smile. "She has a heart shaped face, like you do. She also has very kissable lips and the beautiful blue-green eyes. A lot like yours."

"R-really." RIas was blushing a bit. 'I like this game.' "What else?"

"Well, she's smart and funny. She's developing a mean right hook, too." Xander continued as he tapped his chin as if it was helping him think. "She's pretty popular, but it doesn't go to her head. She's like a big sister to all her friends."

"She sounds like a real catch," Rias' smile was threatening to split her face.

"She is. I've fallen pretty hard for her. She acts like she's fallen for me, but I'm not sure what she sees in me." Xander scratched the back of his head as he continued to play the game a bit. He wasn't sure he could ever articulate his issues in a serious manner, he could do jokes. It was his specialty after all. He was only ever good at serious when dealing with other people's issues. "She's completely out of my league in every single way. I mean I am poor, not that good looking, not all that smart or that funny if my friends are to be believed. I have so many issues I could be a publisher. She could do so much better."

'Does he really doubt himself that much?' Rias pondered for a moment as she listened to his confession. "Well, I think you are very handsome and sexy. You seem more than bright enough and you are very funny. Not to mention charming. As for issues, we can work through them. It's not like I don't have my own." Rias paused for a moment, "So, I don't think I could do better at all. So get in the car, Xander-koi."

"Awww, the game is over?" Xander pouted in mock disappointment even as climbed into the car, "I didn't even get to recite my poem about your breasts."

Rias just stared at Xander for a moment. Since she had started puberty there had been countless males who had made all sorts of comments about her breasts. Some were downright creepy like Riser's older brother Rudolphus, and some had been sweet but perverted like Issei. Xander had made a few compliments that she considered sweet, but hadn't seemed obsessed like some had been. "You wrote a poem?"

"Yes," Xander confirmed, "I might not be as verbal about it as Issei was, but I am very much an Oppai lover. You have the absolute best set I've ever seen, let alone touched. The poem is in Veela, so it really doesn't sound quite right with a male voice, but it has the best grammar and syntax for describing beauty and sensuality…"

Rias grabbed Xander by the collar of his jacket and pulled him for a deep passionate kiss. Once they were both breathless, she released him with a smile. "Someday you'll have to recite it for me."

* * *

Xander wrapped his arms around Ria's waist as they sat under a cherry tree watching the sunset over the ocean. Their date had started just a few hours after breakfast and had been busy. They'd driven all over Kouh and the surrounding countryside to see the sights. Lunch had been at a drive-in diner with a complete 1950's Americana feel. Then they had gone to a dance hall, where Rias had very patiently taught him a few ballroom dances aside from the waltz he knew. Of course he'd returned the favor by teaching her to swing dance, which was literally the only other couples dance he could do without looking like spaz. Now, they were just enjoying the sunset, with Rias literally sitting in his lap.

"I have to say, this is the best first date I've been on," Xander finally spoke as sun had slipped fully below the horizon. He wasn't kidding at all. Dates with Cordy had been fun, but that was only after the pair of them had figured out what they liked. Dating Anya hate been a trial at first as the former demoness only seemed to want to have sex or do what stereotypical couples did. Then there was the fact that a lot of his first dates tried to kidnap him, eat him, or sacrifice him. As for him and Faith, they never dated, just hung out then screwed like rabbits in heat. This first date with Rias was much like the best dates he'd had with Cordy or Anya. "So what is on that beautiful mind of yours?"

If any other man had said that, Rias would have snorted in derision before lambasting them for trying to butter her up. Then again most men wouldn't have meant it. So she basked a bit in the compliment as she decided to be completely honest with where her mind had been wandering.

"I was just thinking of how lucky I am that you came into my life, Xander-koi." Rias lifted one of Xander's hands and kissed the back before she guided it to rest on her breasts. When he went to move it, she literally held it in place. "I was dreading the day I would graduate knowing that I'd be married in a week. Now, I can't help but want to be done already so we can start our lives together."

"And just how does my Rias-hime picture our future together?" Xander asked after taking a moment to squash programmed response that she could so much better than him. He could be what Giles would call daft, but he wasn't a complete moron. Once Raynare had pointed it out, Xander could look at Rias' behavior without his usual bias. He still had his self-doubt, but could accept that others saw him differently. He also couldn't help his curiosity over just Rias envisioned for her ideal future.

"Mmmm, I see us happily married. I'm a little busy running the Gremory family but I still make plenty of time for you and our daughter." Rias started detailing her dream of the future. "You're in charge of the Gremory Armies and you have your own peerage where you dominate the Rating Games with your insane stunts. We make everyone in the Underworld insanely jealous with how in love we are. Then one day I surprise you with the fact we are have a second child before our first is even ten, making everyone even more jealous. Of course, you're happily passing out twinkies to everyone you see and bragging about how you're the luckiest man in Hell. Meanwhile I'm just basking in fact I am yours."

"Wow…" Xander let that drag out for a moment as he was processing everything. He'd been told about the limited Devil fertility when he'd asked about the purpose of the Evil Pieces. Sirzechs was apparently three thousand years older than Rias and they were considered pretty close in age. Only the Phenex Family had any full siblings that were closer in age, Riser and Ravel with only a five hundred year age gap. "So, I'll be taking your name I guess."

"Yeah, I am sorry about that, but I am a member of a Pillar family and the heiress," Rias felt a little sorry that Xander would have to abandon his last name when they got married. "You could have one of the other brides take your last name if you want to continue the line."

"Other brides?" Xander parroted.

"As much as my Greed wants to keep you all to myself and the love I have for the Human world, I was raised in the Underworld by Kaa-san and the rest of the harem." Rias smiled as she remembered all of her other mother figures, most of them were part of her mother's peerage and served in various positions in the Gremory holdings. "Monogamy is fine for humans, but even before the birthrate issues, Devils just didn't see the point. We live a VERY long time. Having just one wife seems silly. I just ask that you don't bow to any political marriages."

It's not every day that a man's fiancé openly says there will be more women in their relationship, so Xander was understandably flummoxed. Honestly almost every male would be in the same boat, even the men who openly proclaimed that they would want a harem. Then there was the twist in Xander's gut as he wondered if that meant Rias would have other men she slept with. Riser's jealousy over him and Kiba opened avenues of thought that ignited Xander's possessiveness. Yes it was hypocritical, but there was no way he would share his wife with another man. Suppressing that dark emotion he leaned his head forward and kissed the side of her neck.

"And what if I am jealous enough to not want to share you?" Xander asked as soon as he was sure the green-eyed monster would be absent from his voice. "Would that pose a problem?"

"Well… it depends if you mean just with other men or not at all," Rias was shivering in delight under Xander's ministrations. Somehow he already knew where every one of her erogenous zones were. 'I thought it was just my neck, but he's found them on my breasts, stomach, legs, and my scalp. He's just too good.' She thought ruefully. "I have no desire to ever be with any man but you, but… ooh Maou… I would think you'd want your wives to play together."

"You're right about that. It would be rather enticing." Xander playfully growled before nipping at her neck, "But no offense, we'll probably be alone in our marriage if you want me to only marry girls who love me."

"You are still so clueless," Rias couldn't help her giggle at her fiancé's obliviousness. Though to be fair so far only Asia seemed to love him. Akeno was only in lust and Koneko just liked him. Though if she was a betting woman, she would say all three of them would be sister-wives one day. "But in an adorable way."

Ever since he made friends with one Buffy Summers, it seemed as if the forces of Evil took delight in ruining as many of Xander's romantic moments as they could. It had happened on dates with Cordellia and later Anya regularly enough that they started making games of how badly they could beat the interlopers. More than one Vampire had begged to be staked after being tortured by either woman. More than once he'd ripped a demon to shreds because he been cock blocked. So Xander wishes he could have been surprised by what happened next.

"Ah how sweet and romantic," Rudolphus Phenex muttered as he stepped out of black teleportation circle. Unlike the majority of his family, Rudolphus favored wearing armor when expecting a battle. His currently choice in armor was matte black plate armor chased with dull grey runes. "I am utterly revolted. You are sullying the House of Gremory with this filth, Rias. Our ancestors would be ashamed."

"That's rich coming from a Devil who had his peerage disbanded because he mind raped them all into service." Rias spat out as she gently disentangled herself from Xander and stood to face the source of her ire, "My Xander is a much better choice for me than anyone you could think to name."

"Who's the Drow wannabe?" Xander asked as he manifested the Boost Gear gauntlets. He'd already risen to his feet as Rias had and was currently standing beside her in a ready stance.

"That is Rudolphus Phenex, the second son of the Phenex Family. He's known for his mind control magic." Rias spat out. "What are you doing here? Xander is my fiancé now, not your brother."

"That is something I am here to rectify," Rudolphus grinned evilly, "Alexander Hyoudou I challenge you for the right to be the Groom of the contract." The obsidian skinned man spat out as he pointed at the much younger man. "Do you accept?"

"No, I don't." Xander chuckled as he shook his head. Relaxing his stance he embraced Rias from behind as the gauntlets disappeared. "Now go away. You ruined the mood, but we might be able to get it back."

"What?" Rudolphus nearly shrieked as his face betrayed his dismay. 'This can't be happening! He completely rebuffed my command! He's a just a Low Class Devil that should not be possible!'

"You heard him, my betrothed said no." Rias snickered at Rudolphus' reaction, however her humor quickly faded into anger as she stared at the interloper. "If he had agreed, I would have allowed the challenge, just to punish you for cock-blocking me. Be grateful as I would have fought you myself and presented your skull to Xander as a token of my devotion."

"You know, you are incredibly sexy when you are angry." Xander whispered in her ear before nibbling on the earlobe, not even caring if there was an audience. "Let go find a nice Love Hotel to finish our date."

"I WILL NOT BE IGNORED!" Rudlophus roared in anger as he began forming a fireball in his left hand.

"BACK OFF!" Rias shouted back as she unleashed a massive wave of the *Power of Destruction*.

The crimson and black energy surged forward and overtook Rudolphus before he could even raise a defense. All the Phenex could do was scream in agony as he was engulfed. The middle Phenex brother thrashed around for a few moments as he fought against the Bael clan's signature power. It seemed to be for naught as his powers of the *Phenex Flames* were not as advanced as he younger brothers. His armor was the first thing to be consumed by the crimson and black flames to be followed by his hair and skin. A few of his fingers and toes had been wholly consumed as Rudolphus struggled to form a teleportation circle underneath himself. He lost his left hand and right foot before he vanished into the flames of a Phenex clan circle.

"That's my girl." Xander whispered in Rias' ear.

"You better have been serious about that love hotel, Xander-koi," Rias leaned back her fiancé and basked in his warmth. "We both need relief."


	15. Date Night Part two

Xander DxD 015

Disclaimer: I do not own High School DxD, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Angel, Harry Potter, Naruto, and Rifts

Major AU: Do not expect this story to strictly follow canon for High School DxD.

Key: "Talking" 'Thought' [Sacred Gear] (Pailamancy or Telepathy) *Technique*

Author Note: I will admit I am going full on mustache twirling evil with Reginald and Rudolphus. I'd apologize, but some twisting of canon is fun. And we need a good reason why there are Phenex Tears on the black market.

Date Night Part Two

"I wonder how their date is going?" Akeno Himejima couldn't hold back anymore. She had volunteered to distract the entire peerage so they wouldn't spy on Rias and Xander's date. Actually, Xander had commented how the Scoobies would start shadowing him on his dates, which was part of why he stopped dating. She had immediately proclaimed that she would be entertaining Kiba, Koneko, Asia, and Raynare. The last had caused raised eyebrows as Akeno went out of her way to not interact with Raynare. Oh she was still polite and civil when they had to, but there was no denying that the Priestess of Thunder would love nothing more than to never see the Fallen Angel again.

"Knowing Xander-kun, it's either going really, really well or they are fighting some eldritch horror." Raynare spoke up as she put down her cup of tea. She had been surprised that Akeno had invited her to the Shrine for a Tea Ceremony followed by a study session. When she saw the others there, she understood it wasn't really an olive branch, but it was improvement over how Akeno treated most Fallen.

"Yeah, Xander-sempai has the most bipolar luck with love." Koneko nodded as she paused in her quest to taste each of the delicacies the others had brought. She might have been a little jealous of their cooking skills, but she never let it let consume her. Instead she enjoyed their talents. Rias, Akeno, and Kiba were in close competition as the best chef, but Raynare and Asia's efforts were not to be taken lightly. Not to mention whenever Asia came she brought some of Mother Hyoudou's treats and her treats were wonderful as well.

"I do hope it is going well for Xander-kun and Rias-nee." Asia looked looking up from her geometry homework, wishing for the thirtieth time that Xander was there to help her. 'Xander-kun makes this all seem so easy.' Shaking herself out of her desire to be near the carpenter, she continues. "Both of them were looking forward to this date. Rias-nee packed an overnight bag."

"Well, then I feel sorry for anyone who interrupts their date," Kiba finally spoke up. He shook his head as he was imagining Rias' reaction to being cock-blocked. He couldn't suppress the full body shudder as he imagined gelding the poor soul who ruined her chance at being deflowered.

"Well we could go spy on them," Raynare offered. She wouldn't admit it, but she was curious. Being a fan of the show she knew what kind of disaster could follow Xander around. Then there was the fact that every member of the Grigori Seduction corps was a bit of a voyeur too. So for her, it would be entertaining no matter what. "Purely to keep them safe, of course."

"No, I promised Xander-kun that I would keep all of you distracted so you couldn't spy on them." Akeno was sharp with her response. The truth was she really wanted to watch the date. She was rooting for Rias to seal the deal… so she could start her plan of being the mistress. Rias would try to make it difficult to seduce Xander, but nothing worth having comes easy. Softening her tone a bit she continued, "Besides, Rias will likely be gushing about it for weeks, so we'll hear every detail from her perspective. Though, I admit it would be nice to see my future lover in action, ufufufufu."

* * *

"How in the Nine Hells was that dragon trash able to repel my mind magic?" Rudolphus Phenex was fuming as he sat in his favorite chair in his lavishly decorated bedroom. He was completely naked as Rias' attack had completely destroyed his armor and most of his clothes. A fair portion of his skin had been destroyed as well, leaving his sinews visible through the dull red flames covering each wound. Like the rest of his family he possessed the *flames of regeneration* that would restore him to health, but his was much slower. The only reason he wasn't screaming his head off in pain was some of the tonics his mother's people made. "He's just a simple Low Class devil."

"And that is where you failed, my son." Reginald Phenex shook his head in dismay over at the state of his favored son. "Though I cannot fault you for making the same error I made. Your mother would be very disappointed in the both of us." As he spoke the elder Phenex produced a Phenex Tear phial from his robes. With a drop of the miracle fluid, Rudolphus' hand and foot were restored as was the majority of his skin. "The Unseen refuse to accept a contract that will target him or anyone he's close to."

"Refused or just named an exorbitant price?" Rudolphus asked. 'It's probably the latter as Father is a cheapskate.'

The Unseen were Guild of the best Assassins in the supernatural world. You didn't find them, they came to you. Even those who have bought their services never saw them. There wasn't any negotiation either. The client named the target then the guild named the price to be paid up front. Inside of a week the target would be dead. It was rumored even Heaven had used their services, though there was never any evidence. In fact that was the calling card of their trade, the complete lack of evidence. Marks were just killed and nobody was sure how they did it.

"They told me that if I pressed the matter, they would inform Alexander and offer to terminate me for a single yen." Reginald made no effort to hide his anger over the subject. He had been a very loyal client of the Unseen for some time. Many of his harems' first loves/fiancés had been eliminated so he could swoop in. "Even asking about a contract on Sirzech's brat hadn't elicited such a reaction. So what does that tell you?"

Rudolphus stared at his father in shock. "That is not a very funny joke, Father."

"You know me better than that, Son." Reginald rolled his eyes at the assumption. "Like I'd attempt levity at a time like this. Something about Alexander frightens the Unseen more than assassinating the son of a Super Devil." Even as vain as the Phenex family was they realized that Sirzechs alone could wipe out them out. He didn't need to bring his wife, peerage, or family into the battle. If Alexander created even more fear than that, there was reason for concern. "I am at a loss for why."

"Could it be one of his titles?" Rudolphus mused aloud as he was trying to process how someone could be more feared than the Lucifer. "According to some he is known as the One who Sees. Perhaps he can pierce the veil of secrecy around the Unseen."

"If he can do that then it's doubly important we eliminate him," Reginald growled darkly, "He could uncover our ownership of the Black Market and our plans."

"Agreed, he cannot be allowed to compromise the plan." Rudolphus agreed with a nod. "However, since we cannot use the Unseen we have to be creative in our endeavor. If we could simply control Rias or her pet Dragon, this would be so much easier." Stroking his chin the obsidian skinned man broke into a grin. "If I can't strike at the King or the Pawn, then I will just have to target more easily controlled pieces."

* * *

Rias Gremory was not angry, nor was she mad. She wasn't pissED or even livid. She wasn't even furious. Standing in the ruins of the love hotel room she had booked not an hour ago, Rias could honestly say she had entered a state of rage. The buxom redhead was wearing a special matched bra and panty set that she had bought specifically so she could seduce Xander with a pole dance. She had been half way through her routine when a massive bolt of lightning had destroyed half the hotel. The resulting explosion had left her unharmed and thankfully enough Xander had escaped injury as well. Normally a failed attack would have left her only slightly irritated. The fact that it had effectively cock-blocked her for the second time that day infuriated her. What took it to the white hot clear rage she had entered was the identity of her attackers.

"When I get my hands on you, Rudolphus, you will beg me to allow Xander to end your existence." Rias muttered darkly. Her entire form was bathed in the crimson black flames of the *Power of Destruction*. The hair on her head was flowing as if blown by wind. "The worst tortures of Tartarus will pale in comparison to my wrath."

"That's my girl." Xander Harris muttered just as darkly while he manifested the Boosted Gear Gauntlets. He was only in a pair of black boxers revealing his powerful frame for all to see. It might have been his first date with Rias, but he hadn't ignored her signals like he had been for the last week. Xander was fully aware of what his fiancé wanted and honestly he did as well. Like her he was entering a rage by the attack, and for exactly the same reason. "I need a promotion if we are going to fight them."

"Of course, Xander promote to Queen!" Rias smirked as she used a little known ability of the Evil Pieces: a pawn could self promote if they were hostile territory, but when a King did it they were given a slight but more power. "So how do you want to handle this? We can't kill them."

"No, we can't, but it's been a while since I've done an instructional beat down." Xander grinned as he felt the rush of power flood his body. A moment later it was doubled with an audible [BOOST!] echoed over the ruins of the Love Hotel. Reaching into his dimensional space, Xander pulled a pair of meter long stun batons that Andrew developed to handle even the most resilient demon. "None of them are wearing their Tactical Gear, so it will be easier."

"We're not exactly wearing ours either, Xander-koi." Rias replied as she transformed her lingerie into her school uniform before releasing her wings. Her entire form still wreathed in the crimson flames. "And you can't fly yet, so I'll take the fliers."

"I'll handle the rest. When you're done you can help me kick the Drow Wannabe's ass." Xander nodded, "And remember, you're my other half." [BOOST!]

"Now that you are done posturing, I will repay your earlier insult." Rudolphus snarled out as he hovered just a foot off the ground behind his mind controlled minions. The middle Phenex brother raised a mailed fight and pointed at Xander. "Kill him and subdue the bitch."

"Yes, Rudolphus-sama." The monotone voices of Akeno, Kiba, Koneko, Raynare, and Asia left no doubt that each one of them was completely under the control of the onyx skinned devil. There wasn't a single trace of their personality in each of them as they moved to the attack.

* * *

Kiba was unsurprisingly the first to reach Xander. The Knight of Gremory was swinging a *Sword of Sharpness* in an overhead strike in an effort to bisect the larger man. The blonde grunted as his sword struck the stun baton that Xander had used to parry the attack. There was a moment of confusion that flashed on his face as blade refused the cut the baton.

"You forget to wear your insulated gloves, Kiba-kun." Xander smirked as he depressed the trigger. The arcs of electricity flowed into the steel sword and then into the swordsman's unprotected hands.

"Guguguguguguguh." Kiba's whole body was shuddering as 300,000 volts of electricity flowed into him. He tried to let go of the sword, but found his fingers were locked up thanks to the current. His hair was beginning to stand on end as he tried to jerk his sword away.

"Shocking isn't it." Xander couldn't help but quip as he jabbed the other stun baton into Kiba's leg. He struck true, but was only able to apply the charge for half a second when a tiny fist connected with his stomach. For a brief moment, the fist seemed to be buried onto Xander's abs. Then there was a shockwave that travelled through his body as he was launched back five meters, tumbling end for end before coming to his feet. "Oooof! Should have kept my eye on you, Koneko-chan."

Koneko did not respond at all she simply rushed forward in an attempt to close the distance. While not as blindingly fast as Kiba, the work she put in with Xander had increased both her speed and power. The tiny rook was making an attempt at a spear take down so she could use her vastly superior strength to put him in a submission hold.

[BOOST!] Xander appreciated that Ddraig was automatically applying the doubling powers of the Boosted Gear. Moving at the last moment he let Koneko sail past him, much like a matador dance around a charging bull. Striking out with the baton in his left hand, he was disappointed to see it had simply bounced off her rook defenses. 'Damn it, I'll need a few more boosts before I can handle her. Well, I better finish taking Kiba out of the fight then.' With that thought Xander charged towards the still seizing swordsman.

Kiba couldn't get his arms and leg to cooperate with his desire to get to his feet. While he wasn't a stranger to being electrocuted thanks to training with Akeno, the difference between a lightning meant to cause damage and a magically enhanced taser meant to incapacitate demons. It wasn't helping that he'd originally refused taser resistance training with Xander. To be fair, only Akeno had taken the former Watcher up on that offer. As he finally managed to bring himself to his hands and knees, he saw Xander bare feet just in front of him. Then he felt the two stun batons hit his temples hard enough there would be bruises. The world went black after that.

"I'm sorry, Brother, but I don't want to have to kill you." Xander muttered as he watched the two stun baton dump the last of their battery into Kiba's temples. If he was human it probably would have killed him outright. As it was, the enhanced constitution that all Devils possessed just meant that Kiba would not be moving under his own power for a few hours. Unfortunately, there was a price to pay for taking Kiba out of the fight. Koneko had been able to reorient herself after her failed spear take down. As Xander was slipping his stun batons back into their dimensional space she managed to grab his left arm and bend it into a chickenwing hold. "Well… fuck."

* * *

Rias took the air using one of the principals that Xander drilled into her: speed is life. Instead of conjuring shields and attempting to weather the dual assault of *Lightning Bolts* and *Light Spears*, Rias was dodging each attack with ease. 'Something isn't right. Akeno and Raynare are much better than this.' Seeing an opening Rias weaved a small amount of *Power of Destruction* and hurled it towards Fallen Angel.

Raynare abandoned the *Light Spear* in her hand to form a *Shield* just before the bolt of *Power of Destruction* struck her. The white heavenly mandala was easily shattered by the incoming attack. With a cry of pain Raynare was knocked into a spin as one of her arms and wings were severely injured. The Fallen Angel fell to the ground in a heap.

"That's not right. She's blocked more powerful attacks in training." Rias had been shocked at Raynare's failure. The Fallen Angel had been training almost religiously with the whole Peerage because she'd considered herself too weak to be an ally. Unfortunately this distracted her enough that Akeno had been able to score a grazing hit with one of her *Lightning Bolts* "Damn it. I got sloppy."

Akeno was hovering in the air barely repositioning herself as needed to throw more *Lightning Bolts* at Rias. As she noticed she managed to wing Rias she began preparing another attack. Using both hands she gathered the energy needed to knock the redhead from the sky.

"Akeno hasn't used both hands to gather an attack since Xander literally beat that habit out of her." Rias muttered as she swooped around and gathered another mass of *Power of Destruction*. Testing a theory she put in just enough power to defeat the defenses her Queen had before training with Xander. "This better work." She muttered before launching the larger ball at Akeno.

The Priestess of Thunder stopped gathering lightning and hastily threw up a *Shield*. Like with Raynare the blast of *Power of Destruction* obliterated her defense. Akeno came out of the attack with some singed clothes and minor wounds. It was nothing that would normally give the young woman pause given her masochistic side, it didn't this time either. What was off was that she was reveling in that pain going counter to what Xander had drilled into her for fights.

"XANDER! HE'S SUPPRESSED THEIR RECENT MEMORIES!"Rias screamed out.

* * *

Ravel Phenex stepped out of a transport circle and immediately began engaging Asia Argento. She had studied the Gremory Peerage and knew that Asia was non-combatant, but could be the lynchpin of any continued assault. "Sorry, but I can't have you healing others."

A glassy eyed Asia surged forward and tried to punch Ravel and then follow up with a kick. Neither of them connected but it was completely out of character for the former nun.

Ravel had never studied hand-to-hand combat so it was sheer luck and instinct that had her dodging the fist and foot that had come her way. Gathering some *Phenex Fire* in her palms she made a clumsy attempt to punch Asia back. Only to have the other blonde weave around her attacks with ease. "Well, at least this is keeping your tied up."

Asia continued her attacks, attempting her best to knock Ravel's head off her shoulders. Despite her good form none of her attacks seemed to come close to scoring on the younger girl.

"Why couldn't Onii-baka have brainwashed someone that Xander-sama wouldn't kill me for hurting?" Ravel whined as she did her best to avoid every blow. She wasn't perfect as Asia would actually connect occasionally, but the Phenex regeneration was keeping her from succumbing to her opponent.

* * *

"XANDER! HE'S SUPPRESSED THEIR RECENT MEMORIES!"Rias screamed out.

"Well, that changes things." Xander grunted as he felt Koneko begin to reach for his chin. He knew precisely what she was going to attempt. He had no desire to suffer a broken neck. Activating the rune that held the magical flashbang, he held his right hand up in front of Koneko's face and set it off.

"AAAAAHHHHH!" Koneko screamed out as she was looking directly at the flashbang. The light had been painful enough, but the bang had been what caused both of her eardrums to be torn. Of course the tiny girl released Xander arm and both hand moved to protect her ears.

[BOOST!] Once he was free of Koneko's grip Xander was moving. A moment later he pulled a paintball gun out of his dimensional vault. Without pause he out three rounds center mass on Koneko. The fluorescent blue paint seeps through her blouse and a few moments the DMSO cocktail delivers enough tranquilizers to put a Slayer in a three day coma into Koneko's bloodstream. "Sweet dreams, Koneko-chan."

Seeing the other fights, Xander takes a moment to put a single round in Kiba's back to keep him from being an issue for a moment. A second later a round pegs Asia in the thigh and the Nun dropped like a sack of potatoes. He actually had to aim for a few seconds before he unleashes three more at Akeno. That's when he turns his attention to Rudolphus as he slips the paintball gun back into his dimensional vault. What he pulls out is one truly impressive Super Soaker water cannon.

"Hey, Drow Wannabe, I am actually curious if 'The Works' will affect Devils as much as it did Demons. Care to help me test that?" Xander's grin was nothing like his happy go lucky normal one. In fact if anyone present had known the Scourge of Europe they would have sworn that Xander was the fifth member.

* * *

Author Note: Yes, you can curse me for this cliffhanger.


	16. Date Night Part Three

Disclaimer: I do not own High School DxD, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Angel, Harry Potter, Naruto, MoTU, and Rifts

Major AU: Do not expect this story to strictly follow canon for High School DxD.

Key: "Talking" 'Thought' [Sacred Gear] (Pailamancy or Telepathy) *Technique*

Author Note: Okay, sorry this took so long. Wild plot-bunnies attacked my muse. My Muse likes to pet all the plot bunnies no matter how silly or evil they are as you can probably tell from some of my one shots.

**Date Night Part Three**

Rudolphus Phenex watched the 'battle' with a great deal of confusion. He'd been allowed to witness the Rias versus Riser Rating Game. The Gremory Peerage had all been singularly impressive and fought with skill that most Devils wouldn't exhibit for decades. They might have taken some extreme casualties while fighting Phenex peerage, but Riser had been fighting in Rating Games for over a hundred years. What he was currently witnessing was not the well trained Devils of the rating game, but just some talented and powerful Devils. They were getting steam rolled by their King and one measly Pawn. To make matters worse, his little sister had come to their aid. Rudolphus cursed his all too honorable brother for his stupidity.

'How can this be happening?' Rudolphus ranted internally. 'My mind control never degraded anyone's skill this horribly before! This is ridiculous!' The mind mage was flabbergasted at the poor showing of his brainwashed puppets. 'Damn it, they were supposed to kill the Dragon Scum quickly and they can't even fight on the same level he is.'

"Hey, Drow Wannabe, I am actually curious if 'The Works' will affect Devils as much as it did Demons. Care to help me test that?" Xander's grin was nothing like his happy go lucky normal one. In fact if anyone present had known the Scourge of Europe they would have sworn that Xander was the fifth member.

"How? How did you suppress their fighting skills?" Rudolphus raged at the former Watcher. "That Knight alone should have been enough to kill you given his skills and Sword Birth. Adding the Rook should have been overkill. You manhandled them like toddlers. They didn't even show the same skill they displayed in the Rating Games." The middle son of the Phenex family could care less about the banter of the pawn. 'He just has a silly toy and is bluffing.' "Tell me how you did that and I will grant you a painless and quick death."

Xander was actually brought up short by the reaction. Not because he was intimidated at all. It was just funny enough to amuse him. It had been years since a Demon of any kind had that reaction to Xander mucking up their plans. The Scoobies were so infamous for doing that back home that Demons just stopped being flabbergasted. The general assumption was that if the one of the Scoobies showed up, the plans of evil went up in smoke and in surprising ways. The incident of the Succubus Queen's minions all wanting Faith's autograph for the sex video that had been 'accidentally' uploaded to the internet hadn't even reached the top ten for most ridiculous moments. Xander himself was responsible for four of them, and when you consider that Buffy, Giles, Willow, Angel, Spike, and Wesley all had separate entries that said something. At this point Xander couldn't help it and started laughing.

"You dare mock me?" Rudolphus roared.

"Oh GOD… ouch…" Xander winced as the sharp pain pierced his head for mentioning God. He was still laughing as even the pain couldn't make this less funny. "It's been a while since anyone has been so surprised that I foiled their plans. It's what I am known for. I show up and mess with the Big Bad's plans either directly or indirectly. Hell, I once ruined a Demon Lord's plans by simply introducing a kid to the wonder that is Twinkies." Xander shook his head. "It was always so much fun when they'd rant and rave about it. But it just happened less and less, until one day I began to miss it. So you ignoring my not so little threat to rant about how I accidentally ruined your plans just reminds me of better times."

"Xander-koi, why are you bantering with the idiot who interrupted our snu snu?" Rias asked as she landed next to her laughing fiancé. She would have been there a minute earlier, but she'd had to catch Akeno in mid air and gently lower her to the ground. "And what's with the Super Soaker?"

"I'm curious about that, too." Ravel said as she landed on the opposite side of Xander from Rias. "I would have thought you'd use that rifle that Riser-nii fears so much."

"I'm sorry Buchou-chan, but this idiot here was just shocked that somehow his plot to kill me got spoiled." Xander was still laughing a little. "It just brought back memories. He even broke out the 'You dare mock me.' cliché."

"Are you mad? You continue to mock me." Rudolphus was equal parts confused, angry, and intimidated. Being so casually dismissed was not something anyone other than Sirzechs had ever done. "Forget a simple death. I will remove your limbs and use you as a wall decoration."

"See what I mean?" Xander gestured to Rudolphus. "That's a classic C-ranked villain threat. How am I supposed to take him seriously?"

"Yeah…" Rias reluctantly agreed as she crinkled her nose in disgust over how melodramatic Rudolphus was being. "I've heard better from the Strays we hunt down."

"That was pretty lame, Rudy-nii." Ravel was shaking her head in dismay at her brother's antics. "You sound like the villains on Magical Girl Levia-tan. And not the good ones either."

"Now you've corrupted my own sister?" A vein in Rudolphus' forehead actually started pulsating he was so angry. "Forget just making you a wall ornament in my living room. Oh no. You are going up in my bedroom so I can make you watch as I take those little strumpets over and over again. Rias will be hanging right beside you, Dragon Trash, until her mind breaks from watching. Then I'll turn her into a broodmare as well."

Immediately, Xander stopped laughing like someone flipped a switch. Every bit of warmth and levity just left his face. His right eye twitched a little as his lips pressed into a thin line. The green gems of both gauntlets began flashing faster and faster as time passed. Then there was a shattering sound as cracks appeared across the gauntlets and for the second time since Xander first manifested them, they seemed to molt as they changed. The forearm braces extended a bit more towards the elbow, revealing another emerald gem. Each gauntlet's color now perfectly matched Rias' crimson hair and the burnished golden spikes were multiplied as the celtic knots covering the surface became more intricate.

[Boosted Gear: Second Evolution!] Ddraig's voice announced as Xander was engulfed in a pillar of viridian energy.

"Well there goes any chance of capturing you alive, baka." Rias shook her head as she realized just how Xander would react. Turning to Ravel she bowed in apology. "I am so very sorry for the imminent loss of your brother. I do hope you won't hold it against Xander or House Gremory."

"W-what?" Ravel could only stutter out.

"As if this Dragon Trash has the ability or balls to kill me." Rudolphus sneered. "He got lucky with Riser, but his luck has run out."

* * *

Xander was standing in the Sunnydale Library once again. As before the others were there, with a few additions. Koneko was sparring with Buffy and Faith, the three of them having the time of their lives. Angel and Kiba were crossing blades as Giles and Spike refereed. Asia was talking with Dawn and Tara as they spoiled Xanrai. Rias and Akeno were sitting with Cordelia and Anya, what they were discussing Xander didn't want to know. Raynare was hanging out with Jesse and Kendra. Joyce and Jenny were just wandering around talking with everyone. Drusilla was still in her corner humming softly, muttering about a little boy in a dress. Sineya was perched atop the bookshelves just watching, but she wasn't the only one just watching. Towering above everything was Ddraig in all his glory.

"Ddraig, I've come to bargain." Xander said solemnly as he addressed the soul trapped in the Boosted Gear. "I need the power to end this completely."

"You ask much, Partner," Ddraig responded, his voice nearly shaking the entire library. "You have just unlocked the Second Evolution. Your body is not quite ready for the Balance Breaker."

"Who said I wanted the Balance Breaker? I'll unlock that on my own, Ddraig." Xander shook his head as he refuted the idea he was there to bargain for the most coveted power of any Sacred Gear. Steeling himself he spoke his true desires. "I wish to use the Axe to end Rudolphus."

"The Axe? You are that determined to kill him?" Ddraig had actually reared back in surprise. The Welsh Dragon would not openly admit it, but that particular weapon of Xander's was terrifying even to a dead entity such as himself. "You cannot survive using it as you are. The Blessings on the weapon would be like holding a Cross and being bathed in Holy Water while Angels plunge Light Spears into your flesh. The Red Witch poured as much power into creating that weapon as she did in her attempt to cleanse your world."

"Yeah, I know." Xander sighed. "I can't use the Axe as I am. However, I did read about how you can claim parts of my body in exchange for a boost in power. I am here to bargain away my arms. They will be yours."

Ddraig paused for a moment as he regarded Xander. "Then you know that I cannot simply take them even if you offer them freely. I must provide you something of equivalent worth. Very well, I can grant you use of the Balance Breaker for a full minute to be used at a future date, but not today."

"Agreed. " Xander said with a feral grin.

* * *

"What? How can our son be that idiotic?" Zeldra had a petite figure, barely reaching five feet tall with subtle but clearly feminine curves. Her skin was onyx black with slight hints of blue and her hair was bone white. At the moment her eyes were flashing red, but normally a deep royal purple. While she resembled a Drow Elf from fantasy, her race was just a special subspecies of Devil that prided intellect and charm over brute power. "He can't possibly believe that Alexander will leave him alive after such a threat."

"Reginald believes…" Reginald Phenex began to explain his thought only to be interrupted by a knife being pressed to his privates.

"As much as I love you, Darling, I detest the way you speak in the third person around those you view as beneath you." Zeldra hissed out. "Continue to do so and I will make sure all your wives are solely reliant on their dildo collections."

"As I was going to say, unfortunately while our son has inherited your gift for mind magic, he lacks your intellect and discernment," Reginald shook his head ruefully as he watched the scrying pool. "His obsession with winning is also playing a factor here. It's a shame he could not pass this final test. We'll have to start working on another Heir for the Black Market, perhaps Lolth?"

"Perhaps… She is a little obsessed with spiders, but that can be useful as well." Zeldra frowned in thought. "And we will have to keep her away from the Gremory family. Perhaps encourage her to court the Astaroth Heir? He's rather sheltered and does not associate with the other families very much."

"Yes… yes. That could work wonderfully. He is an avid customer of the Market for items to keep his peerage in line." Reginald considered, "Will you be able to forgo any revenge on Alexander?"

"Reginald, if I wasn't in love with you I would have Alexander father my next child, as per my family's traditions." Zeldra smirked, "Culling a useless member of the family is practically a courting ritual."

"A simple yes would have sufficed." Reginald was more amused than jealous. He'd spent decades learning of Zeldra's people and thus understood just how cutthroat they were. "Feh, I don't need to watch this. I have more important things to do, like remind you exactly why you became my second wife."

"Oooh… that does sound like more fun." Zeldra purred, "Use the cat-o-nine-tails this time."

* * *

"This water cannon is filled with a cocktail of brandy made from communion wine, kosher salt, silver nitrate, white oak shavings, four leaf clover, cold iron shavings, wolfsbane, and blessed oils. It dissolves demonic flesh like a super acid and it's flammable producing holy flames." Xander said as he held up the super soaker for Rudolphus see. "Given your regeneration you'd probably survive as this only holds a gallon." He paused for a moment and passed the water gun to Rias. "That isn't going to do it for me. You crossed a line, Rudy. I was quite willing to let you live until you threatened to rape my girls. Now, you're gonna die."

Reaching behind his back, Xander grasped a handle that everyone would have sworn was not there a moment ago. With a slight grunt of effort he unslung the axe from his back, swinging it around in front of him. If one could only use one word to describe it, that word would be massive. The haft was five feet long and two inches thick. The double blades started flared out spanning across three feet from the curved edge to edge. Anyone who had seen the old Masters of the Universe He-Man figures would have instantly recognized the weapon.

"This is Rosenberg," Xander said as he took the ready stance.[Boost!] "Any last words?"

"I see reason has left you completely," Rudolphus sneered as he drew his own sword, a matte black Long Sword with a decorative golden phoenix hilt. "I am a Phenex and thus immortal." With surprising speed he lunged forward with a wicked slash aimed to open Xander from shoulder to opposite hip. Only to find Xander easily blocked the blow with Rosenberg.

"I've heard that claim from others, Rudy." Xander growled as right eye flashed green while the Eye of Omen began to glow red. "Usually, just before I kill them." Pushing on Rosenberg, Xander forces Rudy's sword out of line before using the haft to break the middle Phenex son's nose.

"Gah!" Rudolphus grunted in pain as the blow actually made him take a step back. "You bwoke my nobe!" He blurted out as he reached and felt it. He was of course a little surprised as he normally could take a roundhouse from a rook and come out with only a busted lip. The haft of the axe hadn't hit him with nearly that force. The fact he'd been injured by such a weak blow paled compared to the fact that his nose was not healing. "How?"

"That is for me to know and you to die wondering about." Xander's feral grin only promised more pain as he came in swinging. [Boost!]

To any observer it would appear that the attacks were completely random, the actions of a wild berserker who cared little for his own safety. However it was not random or wild. Each stroke of the axe put Xander in position to follow up with a wicked backstroke. Rudolphus quickly learned that parrying was not the best option as each blow carried such power that his bones were literally rattling from the impact. Dodging was not any better as he couldn't even make any attempt to counter attack as he was scrambling to avoid getting sliced in two. He'd never had to learn how to avoid blows at all, let alone fight as he was doing so.

"How dare you try to strike down your better?" Rudolphus shouted as there was finally a lull in the attacks. He was only able to speak clearly thanks to wrenching his nose back in place before Xander's flurry of attacks. "You are nothing but a slave who needs to be taught your place." Releasing his flaming wings, the devil began gathering his powers for a magical attack. "*Flame Wave*!"

"*Dangerous Shield*" Rias threw up her hands and unleashed the *Power of Destruction* forming it into a barrier that would destroy the *Hellfire* on contact. She normally would have just erected a barrier around herself, but she needed to protect the rest of the peerage.

*Shield!* Ravel threw her hands to create a barrier but knew it was hopeless. She was indeed more magically powerful than her brother, but she didn't know any elemental barrier shields that would stop the incoming wave of *Hellfire*. If it was a smaller attack the standard shield would suffice, but the *Flame Wave* was infamous for literally flowing over the *Shield* and consuming the caster.

[Boost!] Xander moved so quickly one could have mistaken him for being a Knight and not a Pawn. Coming to a stop in front of Ravel he slammed on hand to the ground. "Secret Zeppo Art: Foxhole"

"Eeep!" Ravel yelped in surprise as she ground under suddenly dipped even as an earthen rampart rose. Instinctively ducking down the *Hellfire* simply passed over her, not even singing her hair.

Xander hadn't fared as well as Rias, Ravel, or anyone else. Ravel's *Shield* and his own defenses were all that protected him from the *Hellfire*. Standing there naked, the only parts of his body not covered in second degree burns were where his boxers had covered, his face, and his arms. There were weeping blisters covering his chest, beck and legs. Ashes were all that were left of the hair on his head.

"Xander!" Rias cried out as she saw how badly Xander had been burnt. Almost immediately she began chanting the beginning of a healing spell. She wasn't as talented as Akeno let alone Asia, but she wasn't without some skill.

"You were willing to kill your own sister? That's it! You're finished!" Xander growled as he raised his axe to the sky. Dark clouds gathered above the battlefield despite the fact they were in a bounded field. "BY THE HEART OF SINEYA!" As he shouted lightning poured out of clouds striking the axe in a continuous barrage, the power flowing into Xander causing a fascinating transformation. The young man began to rapidly grow another foot in stature. The already impressive physique of the demon hunter bulked up until it resembled a Mr. Universe contestant. The various burns and blisters over his body faded away completely as his skin took on a deep bronzed tan. Black hair grew out of his bare scalp down to his shoulders. "I HAVE THE POWER!"

"What the…" Rudolphus started to express his disbelief but found it impossible to utter anything else as an incredibly powerful blow struck him. He folded up with the impact of the Xander's fist. Time slowed for a moment as his body literally rippled under the force of the blow. Then everything sped back up and Rudolphus was launched by the sheer physical force of the blow. The dark-skinned Phenex flew through the air before crashing through a cinderblock wall, even then he tumbled a few times before coming to a stop. "Ow…"

"GRAAAH!" Xander leapt after the devil easily covering the forty feet in a single bound. Grabbing Rudolphus' leg he lifted him up before literally using him as a club. "YOU…" Xander screamed as he slammed the devil into the already broken wall. "WILL…" Rudolphus was then slammed into the floor cratering it from the impact. "NEVER.,." A different crater was created with the devil's body. "HURT…" More of the wall was destroyed as Rudolphus impacted it again. "MY GIRLS…" Rudolphus was slammed into the ground again, creating an even deeper crater in the concrete. "AGAIN!" With that Xander released the leg before bringing his foot down to crush the devil's pelvis.

"Can't… kill… me that easily." Rudolphus taunted as he felt his bloodline begin to heal him. The multitude of broken and shattered bones were piecing themselves back together as he stared up defiantly at the creature than dared to hurt him.

Xander for his part just grinned as he raised Rosenberg for a strike. [Transfer] Power flowed from Xander into Rosenberg as the Blessed Axe's powers were magnified by each of the *Boosts* that Xander had absorbed. The age glowed with a golden brilliance that hurt for the devils to even look at. Xander then swung, bringing the blade down into Rudolphus' chest. There was just the slightest spurt of blood as the axe easily cut through the armor and devil flesh. The devil didn't even have the chance to scream as green flames engulfed his body over taking the *Flames of Regeneration* and snuffing them out before continuing to consume Rudolphus completely. In a matter of seconds there was nothing left of the obsidian skinned devil but a scorch mark on the concrete rubble. "He-Xan wins! Brutality!"

"Is that going to become a thing with you?" Rias shook her head as she landed next to her fiancé. She had witnessed what could only be described as a curb stomp. "When you kill someone you'll quote that game?"

"Yeah, but to be fair I didn't start it." Xander shrugged his massive shoulders. "I made the mistake of introducing Illyria to Mortal Kombat. She REALLY liked it and when she'd kill demons she'd start saying that. I kind of became a Council thing. Even Giles did it once." Raising Rosenberg to the sky again Xander chanted. "The hunt is done. Let the Power return!" The transformation back to normal was far less flashy. Xander just seemed to shrink back into his normal teenage body which had thankfully been healed by the change. Shaking his head a bit as if clearing it, he slipped Rosenberg back into it's holding place. "I really hope you don't get in trouble for letting me kill him."

"I won't. He attacked us with intent to kill you." Rias murmured as she placed a hand on Xander's shoulder and concentrated on a simple spell. In moments the pair of them were dressed in their school uniforms, their Hitai'ate over the sleeve. "Honestly you just saved my brother the effort of executing him."

"Y-you killed him." Ravel was in a fair bit of shock as she landed on the other side of Xander. She stared at the scorch mark that was all the remains of her least favorite sibling. "How? His regeneration was as strong as Riser-nii's but it wasn't that weak."

"Rosenberg is a True Death weapon," Xander stated as if that explained everything. "I am sorry about your loss, but he threatened…"

"I was right there when he did. Kaa-sama would kill him for that even if Tou-san would have made excuses for him." Ravel cut off Xander before he could continue. "I suppose I should thank you for protecting me. Not that I needed you to or asked. I would have survived the *Flame Wave* just fine without you."

'What a tsundere.' Xander and Rias weren't aware that they shared the same thought.

"It's just what I do, protect pretty girls who can kick ass." Xander dismissed the need to be thanked.

"How dare you use such crude language in front of two high class Ladies!" Ravel shouted even as she turned blushed from the very slight profanity. "You're nothing but a barbarian!"

"Well, my Ex did always say I was a Viking in the sack." Xander conceded with a smirk. It was always fun to verbally spar with the self-important rich girls. "I'd offer to let you confirm that, but my Rias-hime has first dibs."

As Xander expected Ravel just began sputtering as her face turned tomato red. Rias for her part, covered her mouth as she giggled at the scene.

* * *

**Rosenberg**  
Bearer: Xander Lavelle Harris-Hyoudou  
Manufacturer: Willow Rosenberg  
Appearance: A steel axe that resembles the He-Man MOTU Axe  
Powers:  
Prowess of Rosenberg. Willow poured a great deal of power into the Axe and as such it is almost unbreakable and eternally razor sharp as well as functioning as a True Death weapon  
The Power of Sineya: Xander's natural abilities will be boosted to the levels of Buffy or Faith for a brief time. This has a drastic effect on his prowess as his Devil, Primal, and Boosted powers all magnify his natural abilities. The Activation Phrase: By the Heart of Sineya! I have the Power!  
Return to Xander's Hand: No matter where it is or what barriers stand in the way, Xander can call the weapon to him.  
Holy Icon: Rosenberg acts as a Holy Symbol to all Demons


	17. When Life gives you Lemons

**Disclaimer**: I do not own High School DxD, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Angel, Harry Potter, Naruto, and Rifts

**Major AU**: Do not expect this story to strictly follow canon for High School DxD.

**Key**: "Talking" 'Thought' [Sacred Gear] (Pailamancy or Telepathy) *Technique*

**Author Note**: Warning: Lemon incoming. Repeat. Warning: Lemon incoming. This is my second serious attempt at a Lemon so I hope you appreciate it.

**When Life Gives You Lemons...**

"Damn, I can barely move. I'm glad we are heading home." Xander bemoaned as he actually had to lean on Rias as they teleported home. 'That feels so nice to say. Another thing I have to thank Rias for.' Xander couldn't help but think as they materialized in his room. Seeing his bed, Xander gently extricated himself from Rias' grip. "Gah, I haven't felt this drained since the first time I became He-Xan. It's always been a bit rough, but it had been getting better."

"Well, that is the first time you have used that power with this body, baka."Rias' comment was playfully chiding even as she reprimanded him. "We could have taken Rudolphus without dragging out one of your trump cards." Despite her words it was clear she wasn't angry, just more bemused with how overboard Xander went. "I am surprised you were even able to pull Rosenberg out. It felt like it was cross soaked in holy water."

"Yeah, I kinda traded my arms to Ddraig so I could do that." Xander admitted with a wry grin as he laid himself on his bed and dispelled the clothes that he had conjured himself. Seeing Rias' shocked face he winced a bit, expecting a real lecture and screaming at for doing something so permanent. (Well here you go. Your idiocy will convince her to move on to someone better.)

"Moving on to someone better implies there is someone better. There isn't and even if there was you stole my heart completely, so you're stuck with me for the rest of your very long life Xander." Rias replied to Xander's thought as if he had spoken it aloud. Rolling her eyes at the stupidity of his self doubt she dispelled her own conjured clothing before lying next to him on the bed. With a contented sigh she cuddled up to him, putting his arm between her breasts. "So no more talk of me leaving you."

"Uhm, I didn't say that out loud." Xander said after a moment. (That's odd. Rias picked up on my thought like Buffy when she was telepathic or Willow when she forged that mental link…) "Oh God! YEOWTCH!"

"Oh this will be interesting." Rias smirked as she realized she was picking up on Xander's thoughts. (The mental link that you tried to initiate your first day finally took. I wonder just how much access I have.)

(Hopefully just surface thoughts, though given how often I think of sex that will be bad enough.) Xander had never been good at stopping himself from thinking. Then there was the fact that he was a pervert, but not an open one. Unless he was concentrating on a project, Xander's mind wandered to the various women he knew and constructed sexual fantasies. Like most typical guys he imagined girl-on-girl action as often as he did imagine having sex with them.

"Ufufufu, this will be fun. I will know all the kinky fantasies my fiancé has." Rias couldn't help but be amused by Xander's dread of her knowing his sexual thoughts. "So do you have access to my thoughts?"

(Yes, I do, just the surface ones and only if I choose to look or you broadcast.) Xander admitted honestly. "It took a little while to learn not to look automatically. At first I picked up everything and learned a lot about Willow I wasn't really ready to know. Thankfully she was the hub and I never got to see into Buffy, Giles, or Faith's minds."

"So you aren't seeing what I am picturing right now." Rias' whispered in Xander's ear releasing a warmth breath along his neck. She was imagining waking Xander up with a morning blowjob before turning it into morning sixty-nine to start the day.

"Well I wasn't until you made me curious." Xander admitted a little sheepishly. "For an innocent virgin you have some dirty thoughts. And let me tell you, the spirit is willing, but the flesh needs sleep and food before it can do anything."

"I know, I can feel how tired you are." Rias leaned in to kiss Xander's cheek. "I have to go report everything anyways, but I want to cuddle until you fall asleep."

* * *

"Are you telling me that Xander-kun has a Holy Sword?" Sirzechs had interrupted his sister's rendition of the events when she had described the holy aura coming from Rosenberg. He had reasons to be concerned. Holy Swords were the bane of Devils everywhere. A simple scratch from one could defeat most Low Class Devils. Even High Class Devils had reason to fear them. As a result the Four Satans made it their business to know about every Holy Sword as well as tracking their location. The fact that one slipped under their nose was concerning, even if it literally only started existing a few months ago.

"No…" Rias answered immediately. Seeing her brother visibly relax she turned the mental screw a bit "Rosenberg is a Holy Axe. I would say it's arguably superior to one the Excalibur fragments but less than the complete sword."

"That is not very reassuring." Sirzech frowned. While he was glad the axe would never be a threat to Rias, the various Devil families would be in an uproar, especially as Xander had already killed a Phenex with it. There have only been two Holy Swords to kill a Phenex until now. "How do you figure Rosenberg is superior to one of the Excalibur fragments?"

"Simple. When you compare the transformation that Xander went through to the speed enhancement of Excalibur Rapidly, it's clear." Rias explained. "In that altered form, Xander's natural physical abilities are increased much like a Queen promotion. He's superhumanly strong, fast, and tough. In addition Rosenberg was capable of dealing wounds that Rudolphus could not regenerate."

Sirzech's eyes widened dramatically. The Phenex family's famed immortality was not impossible to defeat. Do enough damage continuously and the Phenex still dies. Holy Water was also useful in suppressing their flames, making sure any wounds you inflicted would not immediately heal. Light poisoning was also possible which could temporarily shut down the healing. Normally a Holy Weapon did not have such an effect, except the famed Excalibur. Even then famed Holy Sword only stalled the healing while in contact with the Phenex, much like Holy Water or Light Poisoning. Once the offending item was removed the Phenex would regenerate.

"You mean while the Axe was in contact with him, yes?" He asked for clarification as soon as he could school his features.

"No, and it wasn't just the blade." Rias shook her head. "Xander broke Rudolphus' nose with the haft and he had to set him himself to be able to speak correctly. It still hadn't healed before his death. Xander said Rosenberg was a True Death weapon."

"I am making this a Satan-level secret, Rias. I want you to impress upon Xander that he cannot let that information be known." Sirzechs stated firmly much to the shock of his little sister. "While other weapons are more powerful and I am sure Rosenberg would never work for anyone but Xander, there is not a single supernatural group in the world that won't want that weapon under their control. And there are a lot of supposedly Immortal beings who will destroy Xander if they can't control him."

Rias wanted to burst out laughing at that moment, but restrained herself. 'Of course my fiancé has to pull out something that makes him an even bigger target.' She was mentally going through the list of reasons others might try to steal her Xander. That's when a horrific thought occurred to her. "Could you please not tell Serafall-sama about the transformation? You know how obsessed she is with Magical Girls. I don't want to find out if that extends to He-Man types."

"Well… she is a fellow Satan…" Sirzechs was seriously considering if he should withhold that information. If he did then he couldn't discuss it with Ajuka, who would want to start work on duplicating the effect. Having weapons that gave the rank and file soldiers an edge like that would be invaluable. However there were other considerations. "…Grayfia's birthday is coming up and I want to get her something unique. And i have been made aware that Xander has the skills to make the perfect present for her. Convince him to help, and I will delay telling Serafall-chan as long as possible."

"…Fine." Rias sighed. "I'll start convincing Xander-kun."

"Excellent," Sirzechs' smile was radiant as Rias agreed. Then he turned playful. "And I should warn you, Tou-san is getting Xander a 'welcome to the family' gift and Kaa-san said he might go overboard."

"Oh Maou, Xander's going to end up owning a Twinkie Bakery, isn't he?"

* * *

Rias did not return to the Hyoudou home until just after dawn the next day. While she'd been permitted to ride the Express on the way to the Underworld, she couldn't use such a privilege on the return trip so had to ride the regular train. Luckily, her private carriage had very comfortable pull out beds so she was well rested when she entered the front door. Her plan had been to cook a big breakfast and take it up to her fiancé and see if they could recapture the mood they had after the date. Unfortunately for her plans, an absolutely heavenly scent greeted her, telling her that someone had beat her to the punch.

"Hello there, Rias-hime, just in time. Go get washed up and we can have breakfast and then I am yours until dinner." Xander peeked his head out of the kitchen when he felt her presence in the house. With a wink he blew her a kiss before going back to cooking. (Hope you don't mind Chocolate Crepes stuffed with whipped peanut butter and topped with strawberries for breakfast.) Xander was not a gourmet cook, but he was competent at high energy breakfast foods. He had to be considering most Slayers were not morning people until they consumed enough calories to feed a Marine Fire Team.

(Sounds delicious, Xander-koi.) Rias sent back to him as she made her way to the bathroom. She had showered on the train but had to change into one of her many school uniforms. It wasn't a look she wanted on her day off. Going to what was technically Xander's room she stripped off her clothes and stared at the closet trying to figure out to wear. She would have asked her fiancé, but knew he'd honestly answer that he thought was gorgeous in anything she wore. Then a comment made by Akeno struck her. Finding her raciest pair of panties she slipped them one before she grabbed one of Xander's uniform shirts to complete the look. "He better take this hint."

* * *

"I am sorry, Mil-tan, but Xander can't be summoned today." Akeno was compassionate on the phone as she spoke to one of Xander's clients. "He's spending the day romancing Buchou." The miko had to hold the receiver away from her ear to avoid hearing loss from the resulting squeal. "Yes, yes, I will pass on your well wishes to them. Hmm, well I know the potion recipe… Oh… well Koneko is our hand to hand specialist and she is much stronger than she looks. I can ask if she is interested."

Koneko looked up from her box of assorted donuts and nods. "Mil-tan is cool."

"She can be there in an hour." Akeno relayed. "Yes, she'll arrive by magic circle. Thank you for understanding. Sayonara."

"Xander must be making tight connections with his clients. They all seem happy that he's dating Buchou." Kiba commented as he was sharpening his Katana for his upcoming lessons with Sarah. The Samurai obsessed exchange student had wanted lessons in kenjutsu from Xander. Kiba had volunteered to take his place as he was the better swordsman and there was no way the ORC was going to let anything interrupt what Xander had planned.

"Yes, and he's quite popular with my clients." Asia said brightly as she was preparing for a joint contract. She would be babysitting for several of her clients at once who had arranged a day long play date. "They love all this stories about hunting monsters. Some of them are convinced he's a Knight and Rias-nee is a Princess."

"That's not very far from the truth. Ufufufu." Akeno giggled behind her hand. "Rias is practically a Princess in the Underworld and not just because of her brother. Xander will be the envy of many, many Devils."

"Buchou will be in the same shoes." Koneko said after finishing a chocolate éclair. "Xander-sempai will be very popular in the Underworld probably more than in school."

"You don't know how grateful I am that his popularity is not limited to the supernatural." Kiba chuckled as he remembered how many of his fangirls were now less focused on him. A little breathing room was nice. "And has anyone noticed the Perverted Duo have calmed down?"

"Fear of death has that effect on people." Koneko commented. "…at least the smarter ones."

It was no secret that while the various girls in the school would beat a pervert severely that it hardly deterred Motohama and Matsuda. The two perverts were tougher than they looked and ascribed to the theory that pain was temporary. However they seemed to sense if they crossed a line, Xander would have their bodies buried under some endangered plants in less time that it took to blink. Since they had that epiphany, their peeping had been curtailed and the pair of them while still obsessed with ogling girls managed to stop talking about porn in school. Of course this was noticed and many girls figured out the reason which made Xander even more popular.

"That is true." Akeno smiled as she remembered a shopping trip with Xander where a few ruffians had groped her ass and openly declared their intent to drag her behind the shop and show her a good time. She had been just about to act with shocking consequences for her molesters when Xander made his displeasure known with extreme violence. The results had her rushing to the bathroom to replace ruined underwear. Even now the memory was enough to create a wonderful tingle up her spine. "Xander is very talented in putting the fear of the Shinigami into people."

"Though I have to wonder just where our Xander is from. He's not quite what I expect from the series… Well, not in a bad way. He's more like the serious Xander you see once in a while, rather than the goofball. So it's made me wonder just where this Xander is from." Kiba commented after a moment. "I mean he's already stated that most of the comics just didn't happen as far as he knows. He also spoke of Cordellia being alive again, so obviously something happened there, too."

"Issei-san probably was thinking about a fan fiction Xander when he was wearing the costume," Koneko offered.

"Oh my, that's what Xander-kun meant when he mentioned the files on his laptop!" Asia blurted out. When everyone one looked at her she blushed a bit at her outburst. "Xander-kun said that Issei had some talent as a writer and that he would have liked to thank him after he kicked his butt."

* * *

(Oh Maou, did you ever take the hint!) Rias happily projected into her fiancé's mind as she was laid out on the table almost as soon as breakfast was done. Her panties had already been slid down her legs and the shirt she'd been wearing unbuttoned. She shuddered as Xander's calloused hands caressed her legs, gently parting them. (How are you that good at this?)

"You are so beautiful, Rias, inside and out." Xander whispered huskily as he drank the sight of the redhead. He did hear her thoughts, but didn't want to ruin the mood by reminding her that she wouldn't be his first. Leaning down he kissed the inside of her thigh just above her knee and enjoyed how her breath hitched. "Enjoy that? How about this?" Xander asked just before sliding one hand up the inside of her thigh. His finger grazed along her slit as he placed a kiss just a little higher on her thigh.

"OHHH!" Rias squealed as the teasing caused a jolt of pleasure to travel up her spine. It wasn't quite an orgasm, but every touch too pleasurable by half. "If you keep doing that… I will lose my mind, Xander."

"Really? Should I stop?" Xander asked with a slight smirk on his lips. Despite his words, his fingers were gently stroking her folds, teasing them open a little.

"If you do I will NEVER forgive you!" Rias lifted her head to glare at Xander for daring to suggest he stop. When she saw his smirk she knew this was just part of the teasing. (You are evil!)

(Part of the reason you love me.) Xander responded lovingly in his mind as he kissed a little higher on Rias's thigh. He had never played with telepathy during lovemaking before, but he would have to admit it definitely made things fun. "I have no intentions of stopping, Rias-Hime."

Whatever response Rias had to that died on her lips as she let out another squeal of pleasure. Xander's talented fingers had found her clit and began circling the sensitive bud. At the same time he was laying kisses on her thighs, progressively higher and higher, alternating between them. "Close… so close." The redhead reveled in pleasures that only Xander could bring out in her. While she was no stranger to self gratification, everything her fiancé did to her made even her best efforts of self pleasure pale in comparison.

(If you like that, you'll love this.) Xander projected just before his lips replaced his fingers and he began sucking on her clit. As his talented tongue flicked along her clit, Xander slipped two fingers inside her folds. Through many meticulous hours of practice he'd learned how to find the G-spot in moment. Then there was the very minor enchantment that made his fingertips vibrate. Anya was very creative with her spell work and Xander had kept all her notes. (Damn, you are hotter than a furnace.)

"OH MAOU!" Rias screamed out as she almost literally exploded in pleasure. It had started like a lightning bolt travelling from her clit through her spine straight to her brain. While she had been used to the orgasms she had when Xander would wash her hair they had not prepared her for that moment. Every nerve in her body was tingling with pleasure and then there was wave after wave of mind numbing ecstasy. She'd always scoffed at the ecchi anime trope of a girl literally whiting out from pleasure. Now she had to eat a little crow that was exactly what happened to her.

Xander pulled back as soon as he realized what happened. He learned after the Anya Lock-Up of 2001, continuing to orally pleasure a girl after she passed out was not as good a thing as you'd think. His poor girlfriend had developed intensely powerful cramps from the extended spasming. Smiling down at the redhead who was literally drooling on the table cloth, Xander scooped her up in his arms to carry her to her his room. "Probably should have started this upstairs."

* * *

"Damn, I want him to teach you that trick." Aphrodite breathed out as she was watching her new favorite couple and their first time. Her loving husband was holding her in his lap, resting his chin on her bare shoulder. "He literally made her pass out from pleasure."

"If it were a skill, I'd gladly learn it for you, but I think Rias was just so worked up that it was inevitable. They've only been engaging in foreplay for three months now." Hephaestus pointed out. "Besides, if I could do that you'd never ever get anything done and so many destined romances would fall apart."

"I hate it when your logic gets in the way of endless mindblowing orgasms." Aphrodite grumbled playfully not really angry in the slightest. She loved the fact that her husband kept her in line. She was far too passionate by half and it used to hinder her plans. "How about you learn it, but we only use for special occasions? In return I help you convince Athena to relinquish her virgin goddess status."

"Deal." Hephaestus loved his wife more than he could ever say, but he'd always held a torch for Athena. It was hard not to as she often worked in his forge with him and they got along way too well. Of course he knew his wife liked her as well, and imagining them together was exciting.

* * *

"…Did I pass out?" Rias asked as she came to lying on Xander's bed, cuddled to her fiancé. She could remember exactly what happened until everything went white.

"Yes, but I expected that, Rias-hime." Xander said as he leaned in to kiss her neck. Enjoying how she shivered from his teasing he followed it up with a second on. "That trick always does that the first time."

"I thought I wouldn't like not being your first, but if that's the sort of skills you can bring to our lovemaking, I can live with it." Rias almost purred out that admission. Her entire body was still humming with pleasure from the massive orgasm. "I just hope one day I'll be able to return the favor."

"Well, technically since this body was never with a woman, you are getting my virginity." Xander pointed out as she started move himself into position. "You're certainly the first woman I fell in love with before we had sex."

Rias's eyes glistened as Xander once again admitted he loved her. Though this time he said he was in love with her. She grabbed his shoulders and pulled him down into a passionate kiss. Her entwining with his as she tried her best to express herself nonverbally. She would have projected her thoughts, but she was so overwhelmed by emotion she couldn't concentrate enough to do so.

Xander was not surprised by Rias's reaction, but he was a little amazed by her strength. His fiancé was quite a bit stronger than a normal human. It actually reminded him a little of younger Faith. He probably could have resisted, but it wasn't like kissing Rias was any kind of chore. There was a part of him that wondered if perhaps Rias was descended from Succubi, but he shoved that aside as unimportant. Instead he was concentrating on what he knew she really wanted.

(Damn, you are like a furnace.) Xander projected as he rubbed the head of his manhood along, Rias's labia. The redhead's slit was practically dripping wet from her orgasm and arousal. Breaking the kiss so he could catch his breath, Xander's nobility required he ask one final time. "Are you…"

"If you don't shove that third leg you call your dick inside my pussy, I will tie you up and rape you!" Rias growled out as she grabbed his hips and tried to pull him into her. Suffice it to say Rias was now long past the point of patience. She'd been wanting Xander for months now and she'd be damned if his sense of nobility was going to deny her. "Now fuck me like you're trying to knock me up!"

'What is it with me and loving sexually aggressive women?' Xander couldn't help but wonder as he did follow his King's order. As the head finally slipped into Rias's folds, Xander was aware of two things. The first was that she was even hotter than when he had his fingers inside of her. The second was that his lover had to have never even used a dildo. "Fuuuuck you are tight."

"No, it's that you're huge… Maou, it's splitting me in half." Rias moaned out as she lifted her head to watch Xander's cock impale her. She could see his thick shaft actually spreading her open more than any of her enchanted toys ever had. It wasn't painful in any sense of the term, just pressure and pleasure together. At least that was until she felt him against her maidenhead. That had hurt a little and she couldn't control the slight cry of pain that escaped her lips. That's when she noticed Xander was pulling back. She didn't need to read his mind to know why. She didn't even think of the consequences as her legs wrapped around his body and literally pulled him in with every bit of strength she had. The resulting squeal of pain from her hymen being torn and Xander bottoming out inside of her was nearly deafening.

"Why did you…? I was preparing to do that gently." Xander muttered after recovering from the sudden sensation of being buried completely inside of Rias. Her silken walls were squeezing him to the point it was almost painful. 'If she hadn't been so wet I doubt she'd have gotten me in.'

"So full…just wait a moment… let me adjust…" Rias panted out. The pinch of pain from her maidenhead had already passed, now there was just the discomfort of being claimed by the inhumanly large phallus of her lover. Devil, Angel, and Yokai females weren't initially any more accommodating that a virgin human, but their organs adapted to their first lover. The males for the most part were only slightly bigger than human average, even the larger yokai. Xander was way above that average and it was taking Rias a few moments for it not to be on the edge of pain. When it did, Rias's whole world was awash with pleasure. "…there. You can move now, Xander-koi."

"Damn I love you, you crazy woman." Xander murmured as he did start moving. This was something Xander never really had a doubt about. Starting off with long slow strokes, he coaxed Rias into moving in rhythm with him. What he hadn't expected was for his enhanced senses to make this moment even better than he remembered. Instead of just feeling the warm tightness of his lover and hearing her moans and squeals of pleasure, Xander could smell and taste her arousal and hear her rapid heartbeat. Atop that, the mental link had formed a limited feedback loop as they literally broadcast their pleasure to each other. It wasn't too long until he had to start thinking of baseball or trying to decipher Sanskrit to hold off his impending release.

Rias for her part wondered how anyone ever got anything done if this was how sex felt all the time. The sensations of Xander thrusting in and out of her were too delicious by half. It hadn't taken too long for her to be driven to cum on the cock stirring up her insides. She was not stranger to Xander induce pleasure, but this was a new level. It wasn't as mind shattering as when he'd teased her G-spot, but she still wasn't able to articulate anything. In fact all she could do was moan and squeal like some JAV star getting pounded. (I love your cock! I love you! Fuck me! Breed me! Just never stop! I WANT YOUR BABY!)

That was it, Xander couldn't hold back as those words penetrated his consciousness. He'd tried to pull out, not really trusting the fact that Devils had low fertility. Unfortunately, his chivalry was thwarted again by Rias who was using every ounce of her strength to keep Xander buried inside of her. The repeated mental cries of lover to cum with her were too much. This time both Xander and Rias experienced the white out as the mental feedback of the mutual release overwhelmed them.

* * *

"Darling, I just witnessed the hottest deflowering ever. Least till I get my hands on you." Raynare was across the street from the Hyoudyou house watching everything through the window in Xander's room. Her panties were around her ankles as she teased herself with one hand in the other she was holding her cell phone. "Are you sure I have to wait until they remove the seal?" She paused for a moment. "Damn it. I need some release." She paused again as her boyfriend spoke. "You mean that's what that is for? I thought it was just some weird fetish vibrator for computer geeks. Damn it. I can't sneak into my room right now, we have to wait."


	18. OVA I'm Harvesting Breasts

Disclaimer: I do not own High School DxD, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Angel, Harry Potter, Naruto, and Rifts

Major AU: Do not expect this story to strictly follow canon for High School DxD.

Key: "Talking" 'Thought' [Sacred Gear] (Pailamancy or Telepathy) *Technique*

Author Note:

**I'm Harvesting Breasts:**

Goro and Miki Harris-Hyoudou had made a point of inviting the entire ORC to dinner every Sunday night. After having the first sampling of Miki's cooking each of the members made it a point to clear their schedule for that. Even Akeno and Kiba who were gourmet cooks did not like missing one of Miki's meals. The housewife was a better chef than most of the professionals in Kouh's restaurants. Goro himself was no slouch with his baking and candy making skills. The couple also tended to cook massive amounts of food, their standard recipes for just feeding Xander and themselves could feed a dozen normal people. So effectively every Sunday the ORC, minus Gasper, was treated to a literal smorgasbord with cuisine from all over the world. For this very reason there was a full house for dinner.

Xander Harris-Hyoudou was his normal energetic cheerful self as he came down the stairs. With a smile on his face he took his seat at the table and began loading up his plate with enough food to choke a horse. That wasn't anything new as Xander had always had a bottomless pit for a stomach. His cheerful attitude was not out of place as unless he was specifically angered by someone's idiocy Xander was just that way. What was out of place was the number of love-bites on his neck and the slight scent of sex still lingering about him. Only the Devils at the table could smell the later at all given how well he'd showered. Poor Koneko getting it worse than the others. There was also the fact that he wasn't leaning back in his chair at all, something that was completely out of character for him. Unless studying or eating soup he would lean back in any chair to lounge, unless at a formal dinner.

Rias Gremory wasn't quite her graceful elegant self as she came down the stairs. She still had poise and dignity, but the Heiress also had a slight limp that was throwing everything off. The ache that was causing her to limp was not affecting her mood however. Rias was grinning widely and her eyes were dancing with happiness. She was also radiating satisfaction. The Gremory Heiress gingerly took the seat next to Xander, revealing that the source of her limp was definitely not a knee injury. Like Xander, her neck had some love-bites, but not quite as many. There was also the same scent of sex about her.

"Ara ara, it seems that Buchou and Xander-kun were very naughty today. Fufufufu." Akeno Himejima was all smiles as she teased her King and favorite kouhai. It was quite obvious what the pair had done all day, even if the Peerage hadn't already pieced it together. While there was a pang of jealousy in her heart, she was actually happy for bother Rias and Xander. Of course that didn't mean she wouldn't tease them mercilessly. "How many times?"

"A gentleman doesn't kiss and tell." Xander stated quasi seriously in a tone that hinted a continued joke. "And Xanders don't either."

"Baka. That was bad. Even for you, Senpai." Koneko Toujou shook her head in slight amusement at Xander's antics. While she was still extremely reserved Xander had a way of drawing her out of her shell that until now only Rias possessed. It was different though. Rias was like the mother she never had. Xander was her Senpai and there was no other way of describing it.

"If you must know: seventeen times." Rias said simply as dished her plate, taking a portion that normally only Xander would take. The mountain of food was easily twice her normal helpings. (Sorry, Xander-koi, but women often tell, especially when they are satisfied.)

"S-seventeen times?" Asia Argento stuttered out. Her brain was locking up and there was steaming coming of her ears. The former Holy Maiden had been sheltered most of her life, but it did not mean she was ignorant now. Her new friend Aika made very sure that Asia was exposed to many things that would put a blush on the professionals of the raunchiest red districts. So she her newly acquired lustful side was overwhelmed by the idea.

"Is it even possible for a woman to orgasm that often in a day?" Kiba Yuuto blinked owlishly at the thought. The Prince Charming of Kouh did have a slight bit of pervert residing in him. He was a teenage male after all. He just had a very firm control of it. It did help that he had very particular tastes in women.

"Oh yes, quite possible, especially if she multiorgasmic and has a skilled lover." Miki spoke up in a completely serious tone of voice. When everyone but Xander looked at her in shock she just shrugged, "I am speaking from personal experience. Goro is quite capable getting me to orgasm that many times in a day."

"I am going to pretend that I didn't just hear that." Xander stated as he paused in eating. It took a lot to faze him when it same to sex talk. Anya had no filter or sense of propriety when it came to discussing their love life. A woman he was now equating to his mother talk about sex was just touching on the boundary. (It's alright, Rias-hime, I'm used to this.)

Meanwhile everyone at the table was staring awestruck at both Goro and Xander. Neither Rias nor Miki were prone to exaggeration at all. If they stated something it was fact as far as they knew it. The girls were all a little envious while Kiba couldn't help but be impressed. Both men did have the grace not to be braggarts about it, and simply ate their meals with gusto.

"Yeah, sure, let's go with I came seventeen times." Rias said after a moment's consideration. The smirk on her face spoke of something else entirely.

* * *

Xander dropped down through the skylight using his devil wings to slow his decent so that when he landed in the middle of laboratory, he didn't break his knees from the forty foot drop to concrete. The ORC had tracked down a Stray Devil to an abandoned factory. It had been relatively easy given they just had to trace where some rather expensive fertilizers and chemical reagents had been shipped. Apparently the stray in question had a thing for making hybrid plants.

"Martin-san, you have abandoned your Master and been declared a Stray. In the name of the Gremory family I am here to apprehend you. Surrender peacefully so you can be returned to his service." Xander said as he racked his M4 Benelli Shotgun. He was decked out in his typical tactical gear he used for combat missions. "I am authorized to use extreme force as long as you live."

"They sent you in here alone?" Rudolf Martin blinked in surprise at seeing the single devil in front of him. He felt a little insulted as he was Mid-class Devil, even if he was not a combat specialist. "Or are you playing hero?"

"Drac?" Xander blinked as he finally took in appearance of the devil in front of him. He immediately had flashbacks to meeting the Vlad Dracul, the Count of Wallachia, back in Sunnydale. Then much later when the Dracula tracked him down in Africa to apologize for enslaving him. They had parted as allies if not fully friends. Seeing his likeness had stuck Xander like a hammer.

Rudolf was not a fool. He saw his opportunity. With surprising speed he surged forward and snatched the shotgun out of Xander's hands as he flipped over the man. Then shot him in the back before dropping the weapon and running. He had no illusions that Xander was killed by the blast. He was actually hoping for injured so the rest of the peerage would concentrate on supporting their comrade. Rudolf sprinted down the corridors through the old administration department, making several seemingly random turns but in reality led him to one of the fire exits. Bursting through to the door the fire escape, the Stray discovered his hopes of escape were in vain.

Rias Gremory stood on the fire escape that Xander accurately predicted as the most likely escape route for Rudolf Martin. When the stray devil had come sprinting out of the building she'd been prepared with a binding spell. The alchemist didn't even have the chance to act before he was wrapped shoulders to ankles in chains. Of course she wasn't alone. In just a moment Koneko was on the man's back applying a sleeper hold.

"It seems my plan worked perfectly." Rias observed with more than a hint of pride. While she had asked Xander for her analysis of possible escape routes, the entire plan had been her doing. "Rudolph Martin, you are now under arrest for abandoning your King. You will be returned to him after you have been interrogated."

"It… will... be…worth…it." Rudolph barely managed to gasp out as he slipped into unconsciousness.

"Tch, so weak." Koneko muttered as she stood up and brushed her hands. "How did he rank a mid class devil?"

"He's extremely skilled in Alchemy and is a lesser pureblood." Rias explained but it was clear in her tone that she did not agree with the reasoning. Each member of her peerage could easily outperform the stray in front of her, even Asia who was arguably the weakest of her peerage. While the current power structure in the Underworld was a vast improvement on the old, there was still a great deal of nepotism and prejudice that interfered with the meritocracy. "We really should go see how Xander-kun is doing. Rudolph doesn't look as battered as I thought he would be."

"Yeah, I expected a bruised up mess." Koneko frowned as she literally threw Rudolf over her shoulder like a sack of potatoes.

* * *

"You know, I don't want to laugh, but this is just a little funny." Kiba was suppressing the urge to laugh at what he'd witnessed. Currently Xander's face was shoved into Asia's cleavage as the former nun was healing the bruise on his back. This was after Xander admitted to being shot in the back because Rudolf had reminded him of Dracula. Of course Kiba had just seen that episode of Buffy and couldn't help but be reminded of it. "At least he didn't turn you into a spider-eating man-bitch."

"Fufufufufu, Kiba you shouldn't remind Xander-kun of such… traumatic… times." Akeno covered her mouth as she giggled at the antics of her kouhais. She'd arrived with Kiba and Asia after Xander had successfully reported the first turn that Rudolf had made after fleeing. Asia had wasted literally no time attempting to put Xander in Marshmallow Hell as she healed his back. The Miko would bet anything that this was one of Aika's suggestions. "And Asia-chan, be sure to make sure Xander thanks you properly for your actions."

'If I could pull away from Asia-chan without hurting her feelings the two of you wouldn't be laughing.' Xander had that singular uncharitable thought to his two friends. Honestly he didn't blame them for laughing at all. It was kind of funny. Despite wearing his tactical gear he'd forgone the back plate as he'd broken the last one in a full contact spar with Koneko. So when his special Magnum Beanbag ammo hit his back it had been like being mule kicked by an enraged Slayer. In other words his back was one massive bruise and he wouldn't be surprised to be pissing blood for a week even with Asia healing him.

"Just be still for a few more minutes, Xander-kun so I can heal your kidneys." Asia whispered to Xander as she felt him move between her breasts. 'That feels nice. I will have to do this more often.' Thankfully she wasn't as busty as Rias and Akeno or she would have suffocated her patient already. "It's no problem, Akeno-nii. He already does so much for me. Things like this are the least that I owe Xander-kun."

"Well, if this isn't just precious." Rias commented as she entered the laboratory to the scene of Kiba and Akeno suppressing laughter as Asia was forcing Xander to motorboat her. She had already heard from Xander what was happening, including his profuse apologies. So she was prepared for what she wanted to do. Taking aim she took her shot.

CLICK! CLICK! CLICK!

"Kawaii!" Rias squealed as she looked at the view screen on her phone. "This is definitely going on my page."

* * *

Despite the fact he had a fiancé with one of the best racks in the Universe, Xander couldn't help his inner pervert when it came to noticing other busty women. It was hardwired into male psychology to appreciate big boobs. It wasn't helping that his merger had left him with triple his former libido or that he was physically a teenager again. Thankfully he'd learned how to get his looks without getting slapped for being a pervert. When he wanted to scope our girls he'd wear his patch that said: Yes, it was all fun and games. Nobody dared to keep looking at his eyes as they wouldn't be able to keep from laughing. This meant unless the person had no sense of humor he could get a good look whenever he wanted. It also helped that he didn't ogle like the perverted duo did. Well, he did with Rias, but she liked him doing that. So it wasn't too strange that when the strange plague of Anemia swept through Kuoh, Xander noticed the only people suffering it were busty women.

"Okay, so we might be dealing with a smart, but perverted vampire." Xander had finished presenting what he'd observed. "Smart because they're not killing anyone. Perverted because they're only going after busty women. Bust size seems to be their only criteria as they even went after Maeda-san." Xander shuddered as he mentioned the third year student who had was rather unattractive in visage and personality. "So I will be taking a few nights off of contracts and doing some hunting."

Everyone in the ORC clubroom stared at Xander in wide-eyed mute horror for a few moments. For Asia it was that Xander would deliberately be going out to kill a being that hadn't murdered anyone yet. She knew without a doubt that her friend didn't see a vampire as redeemable and there wasn't anything she could say that would change that. For Rias, Akeno, Koneko, Raynare, and Kiba they had one immediate thought. 'We have to protest Gasper!'

"What? Is there some sort of treaty with Vamps that I haven't been told about?" Xander looked around at the shocked faces.

"No, no, but Vampires are predominantly in Europe and the Americas, Xander-koi." Rias knew she couldn't lie to Xander. More than anyone else she knew he could see through lies. In fact she found she was getting a sense for when people were trying to deceive her. "They are also far different than the ones you know. So it would be wiser if we all stuck together."

"Buchou is right, the vampires are different, Xander-kun." Akeno added in. "They aren't vulnerable to wooden stakes or fire like the ones from your world. They are also a lot stronger, the average are probably a match for what you would consider a Turok-han. They can manipulate Darkness and Mist as well."

"Yeah, Grigori send out Fallen Angels in teams of four if they suspect a rogue vampire and our Light Spears are one of their weaknesses." Raynare offered up.

"Well…fuck." Xander muttered shook his head. He knew was more than a match for any Vampire from his world now or even a Turok-han, but given the number of women coming up with anemia it had to be multiple vamps. Multiple intelligent Turok-han or more powerful opponents with new powers was not a fight he could win.

"Vampires stick out in Japan." Koneko added in. "Someone would notice."

"I think I have a different lead anyway." Kiba spoke up. "Murayama-chan and Katase-chan were complaining that they were tired because they've been sleep walking. I noticed they look a little pale during practice. It could the real culprit uses hypnosis to bring victims to them other purposes."

"Aren't they neighbors?" Rias asks and when Kiba nods her smile widens. "We'll set up a stake out, and follow them tonight if they are summoned."

* * *

"How the fuck did that Stray bastard plant that big ass tree in your backyard, Buchou?" Raynare stage whispered as the group followed the obviously sleep walking Katase and Murayama to the small clearing in the woods behind the Old School House. "Isn't this the kind of shit intent wards are fucking supposed to detect?"

"That is something I would like to know as well." Rias frowned as they watched the two girls approach the strange plant. "One would think this would be a hostile intent."

"Raynare-nee, I am usually the last guy to comment on someone's swear, but you're being a little more vulgar than normal." Xander stage whispered back. He wasn't bothered by profanity, but Raynare didn't get that bad unless she was upset.

"The stake-out clam jammed her." Koneko deadpanned.

"Oh you poor dear," Akeno cooed in mock sympathy. "At least you have a boyfriend. I have to put up with Buchou's bragging about Xander-kun. My fingers are getting cramps."

"Could we concentrate on what's happening now?" Kiba spoke up. "That tree seems to be reacting to the girls."

As everyone had been bantering, four vines began slithering their way to Murayama and Katase who had stopped just ten feet short of the tree. However before they could make, golden chains erupted from Asia's back. Two of them wrapped around trees near her while the other two moved with incredible speed to snatch the two kendo club members away from the tree. Of course this let to chimera tree to start animating more vines to deal with the intruders.

"I've seen enough Hentai to know that is not a good sign." Raynare quipped.

"Good job, Asia-chan." Rias complimented the former nun who had acted to protect the girls. "Kiba-kun, Raynare-chan, Akeno-chan, help me keep those vines busy. Xander-koi, promote yourself to Rook and get Rosenberg out. Koneko-chan I am going to let do that move you wanted to try."

"Yes Buchou! Yes Buchou-chan!"

Kiba used [Sword Birth] to materialize a sword for each hand and dashed forward severing vines with blazing speed. Raynare was not far behind using a pair of *Light Spears* to do the same. Akeno raised her hands forming her sigil froze vines as quickly as he could. Rias was hurling *Power of Destruction* as quickly as she could. The clearing was quickly becoming warzone littered with severed and shattered vines. Unfortunately it seemed as if the chimera had some traits in common with the Hydra, for every vine destroyed two more took it's place.

"Promotion to Rook!" Xander called out. For a moment the image of Scarlet Rook was superimposed over Xander as his promotion took place. A moment later he pulled out Rosenberg, the axe gleaming in the moonlight. "So what's the move we're supposed to be doing?"

"Fastball Special." Koneko grinned as she grabbed Xander by his harness and started spinning around. After three revolutions she released him towards the Chimera tree.

"AAAAAAAHHHHHH!" Xander screamed out as he was flung at speeds normally attained by bullet trains. He had just enough presence and time to ready Rosenberg for a mighty chop just as he'd pass the chimera tree. Unfortunately this destabilized his flight path and he tumbled along forest floor until he hit and demolished a residual boulder.

The Chimera tree continued fighting for a few seconds making everyone think that Xander missed the massive tree. Just as Rias was about to order a retreat the tree began to burn from where Rosenberg had sliced through the trunk. Pale gold flames consumed the tree as it began to collapse on itself. The vines literally dropped to the ground before combusting in gold flames.

"That was as fun as I hoped." Koneko smirked at the scene.

* * *

Everyone was staring at the coffee table after Grayfia's hologram faded out. They had just heard the report of what the Chimera Tree was supposed to do. Each member of the ORC was stunned for different reasons. Kiba couldn't believe someone thought big breasts would bring world peace. Akeno was lamenting the fact that she missed out on an opportunity for some bondage play with the plant. Rias was wondering if she'd done the right thing sending the samples of the severed vines to her cousin. Asia was looking down at her chest and wondering if she should have snagged a fruit. Raynare was wondering if Rudolf was somehow related to Uncle Zazz. Xander's inner pervert was mourning the plant that could have made nice bouncy breasts everywhere. Finally, Koneko was fuming about claim that flat chest caused women to be cruel.

"Well… it's probably for the best. If every girl had a big rack, then they just wouldn't be as special anymore." Xander sighed. "Plus small ones can be a lot of fun too."


	19. Excalibur Rising part 1

**Disclaimer**: I do not own High School DxD, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Angel, Harry Potter, Naruto, and Rifts

**Major AU**: Do not expect this story to strictly follow canon for High School DxD.

**Key**: "Talking" 'Thought' [Sacred Gear] (Pailamancy or Telepathy) *Technique* {Magical Item}

**Excalibur Rising Part 1**

Xander Harris was on his morning run before breakfast. While a normal human would be extremely lucky to cover ten kilometers in thirty minutes, he had covered four times that distance in the same time. It was nothing on how fast Kiba or Akeno could move at full speed. Still it was impressive. On his return to the Hyoudou home Xander found his path blocked by two white robed figures with their hoods drawn. As a Devil he'd become used to feeling Holy energies and the pair of them were radiating a dangerous amount. Stopping short he considered his options and formulated attack strategies.

"I never expected you of all people would be a Devil, Xander-dono." The decidedly female voice from the figure on the left was familiar to Xander. She sounded disappointed in him, perhaps even hurt. "You always told your Slayers to stake you if you got turned. Does that apply to being reincarnated?"

'That voice sounds familiar.' Xander activated the Eye of Omen so he could look through the hoods. The silent one had blue hair with a single green streak and while quite pretty was in no way familiar. The one on the left was a different story. He knew that face well. She was his first Slayer, the one that came to Africa with him. She had died in his arms after taking a blow meant for him. Well, it hadn't been meant for him. The demon had been aiming for the eight year old that he had been shielding with his body. Suppressing the urge to just kill the possible imposter, Xander tried to determine how they were in this guise, but his infamous ability to pierce deceptions found nothing.

"Irina? Irina Shidou?" Xander asked a little hope filling his voice. When the young woman swept her hood back, Xander couldn't help himself. He surged forward and hugged the girl swinging her around the way that always made her giggle. "How are you here? It's not a Halloween Spell, because aside of a fanfic you wouldn't have been part of the Buffy franchise."

"Eeep!" Irina was surprised by Xander's actions. Since he was now a Devil she expected someone who wasn't affectionate. In fact she had been prepared for perhaps her toughest battle as an Exorcist. She actually didn't know who would win, even with Xenovia's help and the two Excalibur fragments. Her Watcher had always been dangerous as a normal human, she could only imagine what he was like as the Red Dragon Emperor. There had a brief moment she saw him tense in anger, but then he just looked so happy to see her. The hug and twirl reminded her of all the times Xander would literally just play with his Slayers treating them like they were all his favorite nieces. "Reincarnation and no not that blasphemy the Devils do. I didn't even remember my past life until a few months ago."

"So I take it we are not going to fight." The blue haired one pushed her hood back as she addressed Irina. "That's good. If he was half as formidable as you kept claiming, the property damage would be immense."

"Been telling tall tales again, Irina-chan?" Xander chuckled as he set the girl down. "How tall did she claim the Minotaur was this time?"

"I exaggerated a few times and you never let it go." Irina puffed out her cheeks in annoyance. "Xander-dono, this is Xenovia an Exorcist for the Catholic church and my partner in my mission here in Kouh."

"It's a pleasure to meet any of Irina's friends." Xander offered a wide smile to Xenovia and when she presented her hand he leaned down to kiss the knuckles causing the girl to blush.

"And it is an honor to meet you, Xander-dono." Xenovia was almost formal in her address of Xander. "Irina shared many stories of your adventures in Africa. As for the story of the Minotaur, I believe she said he was only seven feet tall."

"See, I didn't exaggerate this time." Irina said proudly.

"So what brings a pair of Exorcists to Kouh? For your sake, I hope you aren't looking to eliminate any of the Gremory Peerage or the Sitri one for that matter." With the initial pleasantries out of the way, Xander ready to get down to business. "They are really strict about maintaining the Ceasefire. The one time you could say we violated it at all was when some Fallen were killing one of my Girls."

"That is a complicated issue, Xander-dono." Irina sighed. "We really need to speak to both Gremory and Sitri. I'd like for you to introduce us."

* * *

(I am not angry with you in the slightest, Xander-koi.) Rias sent a reassuring message to the love of her life as she could sense his unease with her stern countenance. She was having her meeting with the Exorcists in the ORC Clubroom and been very firm in how the seating arrangements were. She was seated on one couch with Xander seated directly beside her as a sign that they were betrothed. Akeno was playing hostess serving refreshments as her right hand woman should. Koneko, Asia, and Raynare were standing behind the couch denoting their station under her protection and command. Kiba would have been there, but he was on a summons. The entire arrangement was designed to showcase Rias's power as well as how much she cared for her subordinates. "So, my Pawn and fiancé has informed me you wished to speak with me concerning Church business in Kouh?"

"Your fiancé?" Irina uttered out of shock. 'I do hope this is something you chose, Xander. If not… I'll exorcise her.' Taking a sip of her tea, she composed herself. "As I am sure you know, the Church had control of six of the seven fragments of Excalibur. I say had because two weeks ago someone began stealing some of them. First was {Excalibur Nightmare} from the shrine in Poland. Then {Excalibur Transparency} disappeared from the Church of England's hands. Finally the {Excalibur Rapidly} disappeared when Saint Bartholomew Maximoff was murdered in America."

"The Church was stymied over who the culprits could be." Xenovia continued as Irina had broken up a bit at the mention of the murder. "Every lead the Inquisitors found came to a dead end. Fortunately there has been a break in the case. Kokabiel openly claimed to have stolen the first two fragments. He then claimed he had his human servant Freed Sellzen murder Saint Maximoff. The Inquisitors have tracked them to Kouh."

"I see, and the Church sent the two of you to face a Cadre class Fallen Angel and one of the most dangerous Stray Exorcists in the world?" Rias frowned at the implication. "They must be very confident in your abilities."

"That's because we have Holy Swords of our own." Irina chipped in. "And our faith is unshakeable."

(It's a suicide mission and they are playing on their faith. Irina was always very devout. The girl could make Holy Water even as a Slayer.) Xander sent to Rias as he analyzed what he was hearing and reconciling it with what he knew.

(That doesn't surprise me.) Rias responded. "And what would the Church like for the Houses of Gremory and Sitri to do?"

"Well, honestly, the Cardinals are concerned that the Devils might be helping the Fallen Angels in this." Xenovia replayed the concerns of her superiors. She didn't believe that as she knew Fallen Angels were far more likely to steal the weapons to wipe out Devils. "This concern was compounded by the fact that one of Kokabiel's followers seems to be working with you."

"I was never one of that battle maniac's followers. I was working undercover for Shemhazai-sama to dig up dirt on Kokabiel-baka." Raynare blurted out. While Azazel was the Governor General of the Grigori, he often delegated a lot of duties Shemhazai was his recognized second in command and also handled all intelligence operations. "Technically, I work for Xander-otouto, not Rias-buchou."

"Otouto?" Irina muttered in disbelief.

"I can understand the concerns of the Cardinals." Rias sighed heavily. "It probably does not help that I have taken Asia-chan and Kiba-kun into my family. I am showing a propensity for recruiting former members of the Church."

"Indeed." Xenovia nodded. "There were concerns that you had somehow charmed both Kokabiel and Freed Sellzen."

"Unlikely, Freed tried to hurt my Xander-koi." Rias stated evenly barely restraining her anger.

"He shot in my general direction. The nearest bullet missed me by at least four feet." Xander rolled his eyes. "He was more a danger to Kiba-kun than he was me."

"Well Kalawarner managed to injure you. I never did to punish her for that." Rias huffed before she calmed down. "Suffice it to say, Kokabiel's minions have not endeared him to me in any way. First they were sent to kill a human in my territory. If Raynare had not given him a quick death he likely would have been raped, tortured, killed, and his flesh eaten. If he was really lucky it would be in that order." The redheaded devil shuddered. "A week later Kalawarner tried to murder me and my Xander. Then she made the grave error of killing Asia-chan."

"It's alright, Buchou, you brought me back after Xander-kun and Koneko-chan rescued my body." Asia said softly as she laid her hand on the older girl's shoulder.

"I see. So Asia Argento was a Witch and never was a Saint." Xenovia muttered under her breath before turning her attention to the former nun. "Did you take joy from fooling the Church for so long? I should strike you down for your deception. You are truly a despicable creature."

"Xenovia don't, she's…" Irina went to warn her friend but it was too late.

Xander moved with speed that normally only Knights possessed. Xenovia had no chance of stopping the assault given she was paying more attention to Asia. One moment she was expressing her disdain for someone who she felt deceived the Church for her own gain. The next she was pinned to the wall with an impossibly powerful grip on her throat cutting off her air supply enough that it made speech possible, but she was still getting enough air to remain conscious. The former Zeppo had removed his eye patch and dropped illusion for maximum intimidation factor. Seeing the star ruby glow with righteous fury as the natural eye promised nothing but pain and death had the effect of shutting up anyone with a brain.

"Listen here. The only reason I am willing to explain this at all, is that you are a friend of Irina's. Normally when someone threatens one of my girls, I break their bones and if they continue I kill them." Xander growled. "Asia Argento was every bit the Saint the Church made her out to be. She used the Sacred Gear she was given to heal anyone she could, just as your God intended. She did this without expectation of even simple thanks. She used her powers and skill, but your God got all the glory. Then one day she does something that Jesus himself would do, healed a sinner. Your Church excommunicated her and though she hasn't admitted I will bet they planned on executing her despite she did what the Bible told her to do." Xander wasn't yelling, his voice had that calm anger that spoke of the fact he would lose no sleep if he killed Xenovia at that moment. "In her desperate state the Fallen Angels preyed on her desire to still serve your God. They promised her that she could be useful to God. If she hadn't run into me and Raynare-chan hadn't recognized who I was from the description, Asia-chan would be dead and her power in the hands of a serial rapist Fallen would go on a spree of breaking men all across the world. Asia is one of my girls and that means I WILL defend her from ANY threat."

Xenovia stared wide eyed at Xander. She had never voiced it aloud, but she had not believed half of Irina's tales. They had been all too fantastical. At this very moment she was sure that Irina had actually been underselling things. 'Am I going to die?'

"Xander-koi, release her at once!" Rias barked out a command knowing Xander would comply. She could feel his boiling anger at the Exorcist, but also that it was firmly under control. "This is a parlay and I will not have you ruining the Ceasefire for things this Exorcist hasn't even attempted yet."

"Hai, Buchou-chan." Xander muttered as he released Xenovia and returned to his seat as the blue haired girl collapsed and caught her breath. "I am sorry, Xenovia-san. I overreacted."

"I was in the wrong as well." Xenovia replied. "I should not have been making threats on Argento-san's life."

"Argento-san, is what Xander-kun said true?" Irina knew that lying to Xander was virtually impossible. Lies of omission were about the only thing that had a chance of succeeding, and even they failed more often than not. "Were you a True Believer?"

"I still am, Irina-san. Despite being a Devil I still love God and try to keep to his teachings. I even still try to pray, despite the pain." Asia replied as she finally recovered from seeing Xander so violently defend her honor. While she was mostly a pacifist, she couldn't help feel special that he would be willing to go to such lengths for her. "Xander-kun is also correct that I was going to be burnt alive. I was rescued by Raynare-chan and three other Fallen. I didn't learn until later the other three just wanted [Twilight Healing]."

"I see. Then I was making my threats based on a wrongful conclusion." Xenovia said as everything was confirmed. "For that, I apologize, Argento-san. Though I feel I should offer to Exorcise you if you have the desire. Self sacrifice should earn your soul redemption. However, I will stay my hand unless you ask for it."

Xander growled again, but was stilled when Rias put a hand on his thigh.

(She is merely offering what she believes is mercy on Asia's soul. In a much friendlier than most Exorcists offer.) Rias projected to Xander. "I do wish you wouldn't offer to kill my servant in such a manner. It's a little rude and could be seen as a threat."

Xenovia paused for a moment on hearing that and glanced towards Xander who was staring at her angrily. "I see. Well then I will not broach the subject again. I am sure Argento-san understood her choices all along."

"Good, now that unpleasantness is behind us, we can relay the orders the Church gave us." Irina was desperate to change the topic. While she might have been willing to back Xenovia in any other situation, she had no desire to face Xander defending one of his girls. Irina had no doubt she wouldn't be killed as she was one of Xander's girls, but that didn't mean she wouldn't be taken down hard, especially as she wasn't a Slayer anymore. "The Church wants you to not interfere with our mission here. They consider this matter between the Church and Fallen Angels. Of course if you are attacked by the Fallen feel free to act, but they want any Excalibur Fragments you might retrieve returned to the Church."

"That is rather presumptuous of your Superiors… but if it maintains the ceasefire I will abide by their wishes." Rias replied graciously. "Now that our business is concluded, would you care from some brunch?"

"No, I am afraid we have already imposed on your hospitality enough, Gremory-dono." Xenovia said as she rose from her seat. "Come Irina, we have to find Father Olson."

* * *

Kiba Yuuto was enjoying a nice cool down walk back to the Old School Building. Where Susan-san was one of Xander's clients, her boyfriend Horii-san was one of Kiba's for over a year now. Kiba had been summoned because there was a last minute vacancy in a historical reenactment for the Medieval Europe Club. It had actually been a lot of fun for him, so he'd only asked for one of the finely made shields the group used. He planned on having Rias and Akeno enchant it for him so it would be more useful in actual combat. After all, there were numerous styles of combat that were weapon and shield combination. Unfortunately for the Gremory Knight, he was about to stumble onto a reminder of his dark past.

Father Olson, a middle aged Inquisitor, was crawling along the sidewalk on his belly leaving behind a trail of blood. His ample gut had been sliced open, but thankfully not fully through the spare tire he had. If he had been capable of rational thought, he would have tried to get up on his feet and run, but in his terror his common sense abandoned him. "No… have mercy. I am a servant of God, like you."

"See, that's where you are mistaken. I don't serve God, so much as I just like killing." Freed Sellzen stomped on the older man's back forcing out a scream of pain. "Oh, I just love the sounds of pain you pussy Inquisitors make. Gives me total chub. So you want to tell me who you're waiting for or should I start stabbing your organs in alphabetical order?"

"But… I don't know who's coming…" Olson cried out between whimpers of pain. The truth was he was very much aware who had been dispatched to meet with him, but that was through deductive reasoning. As scared as he was, he would not betray those girls. "They didn't tell me…"

"Well then what fucking good are you, padre?" Freed sneered before he kicked the man over on to his back. The blade in his hand flashed as it stabbed into Olson over and over again. The psychotic exorcist had made good on his threat of stabbing each of the Inquisitor's organs in alphabetical order in less than twenty second.

That's when Kiba had rounded the corner bypassing the boundary barrier that preventing anyone from noticing the violent murder happening. The Gremory didn't even need a full second to assess the situation. It helped that he recognized the Freed's maniacal laughter. Using [Sword Birth], Kiba manifested a {Holy Eraser} sword. Stepping into a True Iron Gate stance he cleared his throat so the Exorcist would finally take note of him.

"Oh-ho! What's this? Some actual fucking entertainment?" Freed's smile was utterly psychotic, much like the man himself. "Fancy meeting you here. Have you finally come out of the closet? I hear Psycho-kun has hooked up with Tits McGee. Does that make you the side uke?"

"I see your mouth has gotten even filthier than the last time we met." Kiba sighed as he shook his head in mock disappointment. "I can see I made a grave mistake in not crippling you last time."

"It seems I struck a nerve. I mean I was just spitballing, but could it be you actually are gay? Oh my, now I feel like such a heel." Freed's sarcastic remorse made must have been especially amusing to him. "How I about I make it up to you and shove my new Holy Sword up your ass?"

"I am beginning to think you are projecting." Kiba quipped back. "You keep trying to shove your penis substitute into me, after all."

"Oh, you've been taking lessons." Freed chuckled. "Well, if the witty banter part of the fight is over, let's get to part where we test your Devil Sword against {Excalibur Rapidly}." With that he surged forward attempting to slash Kiba from shoulder to opposite hip. As he expected the blonde devil blocked the blow easily, and then the tendrils of darkness wrapped around {Excalibur Rapidly} only to be shattered a moment later. "Well, well, well. It looks like you are having performance issues."

'I should have known that wouldn't work against an Excalibur.' Kiba frowned as the {Holy Eraser} failed, but he didn't let it stop him. Gathering his devil power he channeled it into the weights on his wrists and legs causing the weight to decrease to nothing. "Well, it is a shame that failed. It just means I need to actually put in an effort."

"Oh, the I'm not left handed trope." Freed rolled his eyes. "Why does anyone ever think that works?"

"Because I really was holding back." Kiba grinned before using his full speed now that he wasn't hampered by two hundred extra pounds of weight to fallback twenty feet in the blink of an eye. In the moment of confusion, Kiba used [Sword Birth] to recreate {Holy Erase} as {Flame Tongue} and switching to single hand wielding. At the same time he created {Frost Brand} for his left hand. 'I have to thank Xander for introducing me to Dungeons and Dragons for all the sword ideas.'

"Well, color me mildly impressed. No wonder old man Valper had such a hard-on for you." Freed grinned even wider as he lunged forward at full speed. Instead of trying to bisect Kiba, the Exorcist was attempting to impale him

Kiba had barely knocked {Excalibur Rapidly} off course for his heart. The blade instead grazed across his left shoulder. Of course he hadn't let Freed go unscathed. {Flame Tongue} managed to cut across Freed's left shoulder in return, igniting the maniac's coat. 'So fast.' Was the only thought Kiba had as the Light Poisoning from his wound drove him to his knees as he coughed up blood.

"You fucking cocksucker! That was my favorite coat!" Freed screamed out in rage as he had to pull off the burning garment. "I am going to slice off your tiny cock and shove it up your ass. Then I am going to make you eat your balls. How do you like the sound of that, Devil Scum?"

"He might be a Devil, but you're the only scum around here." Xenovia announced as she stepped forward with {Excalibur Destruction} unwrapped. The bluenette had shed her outer cloak revealing the rather form fitting garb of the Battle Exorcist. "Freed Sellzen you are accused of the murder of Saint Bartholomew Maximoff. We are here to arrest you and return {Excalibur Rapidly} to Church service."

"Surrender now or we will be forced to render divine retribution in the name of the Almighty God." Irina stepped out of the shadows holding a {Excalibur Mimic} in the form of a katana. Like her partner she had shed her cloak for freer movement. "Amen."

"Well, just look who's shown their tits. Damn, you have to be two of the finest Exorcist I have ever seen." Freed leered at the two young women before giving a wolf whistle. "Tell you what, I'll surrender if you let me kill this little Devil and wreck your pussies."

"What? How dare you?" Irina screeched out her surprise as the lewd offer of the Stray Exorcist. "Have you really fallen that far?"

"I'll take that as you are choosing to be executed on the spot." Xenovia was thoroughly disgusted with the antics of the white haired traitor. "So be it."

"Well, damn. It was worth a try." Freed shrugged before he drew out a flash pellet and threw it to the ground. The blinding light was enough to cover his rapid retreat leaving behind the two Exorcists with the wounded Kiba and the dead Inquisitor Olson.

"Well, that sucked." Irina muttered as she had {Excalibur Mimic} revert a ribbon she wore on her left bicep. "What do we do with him?"

"Inquisitor Olson is dead, alerting the authorities we found the body would be the wisest action." Xenovia stated as she retrieved her cloak and the wrappings for {Excalibur Destruction}. "We will also have to procure a room for the evening. Thankfully, Xander-dono kept you from buying that painting."

"I was referring to the Devil, Xenovia." Irina rolled her eyes. Her partner had been subtly needling her about her near gullibility with the painting. 'Is it my fault I think everyone is as honest as I've become?' "He's one of Gremory-dono's. It probably wouldn't look too good if we just left him here. I mean he passed out just a few moments after we arrived."

"You have a point." Xenovia sighed. "We'll take him with us and treat his wound before we notify Gremory-dono of what occurred. We are operating in their territory, it's the least we owe them."

* * *

"How exactly is this a punishment?" Xander was a little puzzled. At the moment he was seated in the Rias' chair, with her sitting in his lap while she did her paperwork. Sure, they weren't doing any of the fun teasing and making out that they had been doing almost non-stop for the last week, but it still wasn't unpleasant. "Wouldn't this just encourage my 'bad behavior'?"

"This is a punishment because I have two more hour of paperwork to do and then I will be playing chess with Sona. You have to remain my seat cushion the entire time and you aren't allowed to touch me the way I know you want to." Rias stated simply. "I also gave Koneko-chan orders to really make this a punishment."

Koneko was walking around the Clubroom sniffing as if he was looking for some particular smell. After a few moments she zeroed on one of the bookshelves. From behind several treatises on domestic magicks, the tiny girl pulled out a box of Twinkies. "Jackpot."

"You didn't." Xander was clearly scandalized by what he was witnessing.

Koneko rips open the package and in moments is eating the first snack cake as she passed some out to the others, deliberately skipping over Xander.

"You are utterly evil." Xander groaned out. "Just devious and sadistic."

"That is such a sweet thing to say, Xander-koi." Rias beamed as she ate her Twinkie with exaggerated moans.

* * *

"I want to help you track down the fragments." Kiba said after everything was explained. "I know of a man who would want to collect them, possibly reforge them." He paused for moment. "Freed mentioned him while we were fighting. Allow me to kill him and I will aid you in your search. Otherwise I'll look by myself and I'll destroy any Excalibur I come across."

"Your Mistress won't let you do that." Irina countered. "She's already agreed that none of her servants will interfere."

"Then I'll go Stray if that is what it takes." Kiba snarled. "I was part of the Holy Sword Project, the only survivor of that bastard, Valper Galilei. All my friends died while they shoved me out the only window."

"The Genocide Archbishop?" Xenovia frowned as she heard that. It was no secret among the Exorcists that Valper had been not only Excommunicated for his crimes, but somehow had escaped execution. It wasn't spread through the rest of the Church, but there was a Kill on Sight order for the man. "It would fit with that man's obsession and modus operandi. I can agree that we will need help if you believe he is one of the conspirators. The man may be the worst of Sinners, but he is a genius. I can agree accepting your help."

"Xenovia?" Irina was a little shocked. Her partner was always open to accepting aid from others. However they had never accepted the aid of a Devil. Not that any had offered aid at any point. "What about our orders?"

"The Mission from Heaven was to retrieve the Excalibur fragments at all costs, destroying them if need be to keep them out of the hands of the Fallen." Xenovia recited the orders given. "It was the Cardinals who added in that we should avoid involving the Gremory and Sitri peerages. However, in this case I do believe those orders will hinder our mission. Against Freed Sellzen and Kokabiel our chances were obscenely low for retrieving the swords, but we were almost guaranteed to destroy the fragments as well as our own, but Valper Galilei and his {Clay Martyrs} would make that impossible."

"You don't really think he could have brought them here, do you?" Irina swallowed a bit at the thought. "We'll need Xander-dono's help then and after the way you went about insulting one of his girls…"

"Then it is a good thing that you are one of his girls, isn't it." Xenovia interrupted.

* * *

"Just what is all this? Are we stocking up for a Zombie Apocalypse?" Xander was understandably curious. Rias had taken him to one of the empty classrooms that the ORC used for massive transport circles. There was a pile of military crates and ammo cans as tall as he was. "And where did you get it all?"

"Oh this is your welcome to the family gift from Tou-san." Rias said. "I am actually pretty proud of him for keeping it restrained. I had feared he would buy you Hostess."

"Buy me Hostess… Just how rich is your family?" Xander asked and then raised his hand, "Never mind, if I knew I'd probably develop a new complex about how you could do so much better than me. I'd hate to ruin all your hard work."

"Good to see you're learning, Xander-Koi." Rias kissed his cheek. "So why don't you check out what he got you?"

"Sure." Xander nodded before he went straight for the largest of the individual crates. Opening it up he saw a recoilless rifle tube, two comically large warheads for such a weapon and then the designation M29 on the inside lid of the crate. Eyes wide open in panic he quickly, but gently closed the lid. "Does your father have any idea what is in this crate?"

"Probably not. He probably just asked for a man portable weapon with the biggest bang." Rias shrugged. "Did he get cheated?"

"Oh no. Not at all." Xander shook his head as he willed the crate and contents into his pocket dimension. "I just joined one of the most exclusive clubs in the world."


	20. Excalibur Rising part 2

**Disclaimer**: I do not own High School DxD, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Angel, Harry Potter, Naruto, and Rifts

**Major** AU: Do not expect this story to strictly follow canon for High School DxD.

**Key**: "Talking" 'Thought' [Sacred Gear] (Pailamancy or Telepathy) ~Communicator~ *Technique* {Magical Item}

**Excalibur Rising Part 2**

The majority of the ORC was going over a map of Kuoh as they were plotting a search pattern. Kiba had called in after his job and said he'd give a full report in the morning. Rias had chalked it up as him being tired after his summoning. It sometimes happened with more demanding task. However, it was well past noon of the following day and Kiba hadn't even called in. Considering there was a threat in town, she was not taking any chances.

"Kaichou sent me to help out with the search for Kiba." Saji Genshirou announced as he entered the room. On seeing Xander he paled and nearly backed out of the room, obviously in a panic.

"Xander-koi, why did Saji-san react to you like that?" Rias asked in a dangerous tone as she addressed her fiancé. While her favorite servant was extremely popular with the girls of the Academy, a good third of the boys were utterly terrified of him. In most cases it was due rather violent reaction to open perverts. Motohama and Matsuda were the only ones who didn't seem to cower away from him, unless they were caught in the act. "As far as I know he isn't one of the campus perverts."

"Relax Saji-san, Sona-Kaichou vouched for what you were doing for her Queen." Xander tried to give his best apologetic look as he addressed the young man. "It won't happen again, I promise. And I am really sorry about the beating."

"You're sorry? I had to have two of my teeth regrown by healers. Do you know how painful that is?" Saji shouted out as he glared at Xander. "It's like having your wisdom teeth pulled without Novocain. I ought to break my foot off in your ass."

"He's the one you pummeled for spying on the Naginata club." Raynare actually winced in sympathy for Saji. When going purely unarmed, fighting Xander was a painful and humiliating experience unless your name was Koneko. "You knocked out two of his teeth?"

"He manifested that chameleon thing on his arm. I shoved it in his mouth before he could use it." Xander shrugged. "To be fair he wasn't in uniform and his hair was purple that day. You'd surprised how different he looks with that hair color. Have to say I haven't seen anyone take a beating that well since me in Sunnydale."

"That was a prank that someone pulled on me!" Saji groaned. "You know what the worst part was. You beat the crap out me like Nappa on Yamcha and who does Kaichou get mad at? Me. I was told she expected a better showing from me."

"That blows." Koneko muttered in sympathy for Saji.

Xander actually cringed at that. Sona struck him as the super strict type, but to be that cold was another thing. "I'll have some words with her. It's not fair to compare a high-schooler to me in combat ability… unless you're a student of Xavier's. Is there any way I can make it up to you?"

"Unless you are willing to teach me…" Saji started.

"Done, I'll train you up, no problem." Xander grinned widely as he offered his hand to the other devil.

"Xander-koi, you should be asking me before you offer to train someone else's servant." Rias lightly reprimanded him. Her arms were crossed under her bust showing she wasn't pleased with being bypassed like that. "And if I agreed, you would have to have to ask Sona-chan for her blessing as well."

"Ara ara, is Xander-kun going to be punished again so soon." Akeno's eyes lit up in unholy delight at the possibility. "I believe this time it would be corporeal punishment."

"Well, technically I will have to punish him for harming another Devil's Servant and the extension of the offer as well." Rias said as she stroked her chin. "One thousand strokes enough?"

"My hands are going to cramp so much." Xander groaned.

"Why would your hands cramp?" Saji was confused. If he heard one thousand strokes from Sona his butt would clench so hard it would make steel weep in envy. Magically enhanced spankings were no joke. "Spankings are on the ass."

"I've been combing her hair every night since we started bathing together. One hundred strokes." Xander explained. "Asia was added to that when she moved in with me. Raynare joined in latter and just a week ago Akeno and Koneko each get a turn too. Rias is saying one thousand strokes for each of them, probably on the same night."

Saji took a moment to look at each of the girl's smiling faces and then at their hair. Koneko's only hung to her shoulder, but other than her the shortest hair of the women in the ORC was Raynare with her butt length hair. "I'd rather take the spanking."

* * *

Xenovia Quarta struggled to open her eyes. Only one would obey her commands, the other was swollen shut. Sitting up was painful, but she managed it after a minute. She had been lying on the floor of the kitchenette where she had been struck down while she had been heating some cup ramen. 'If that Gremory Knight…' Her thoughts of what she would do to Kiba died on her lips as she saw his battered form lying among the ruins of the entertainment center. He'd obviously tried to put up a fight, but had been knocked out. Quickly looking around, Xenovia was searching for Irina but could see no sign of her friend and partner.

It took some effort but she managed to reach one of pouches in her suit. Pulling out the foil pack she opened up and poured the {Manna} into her mouth and chewed. In a matter of moments her ringing headache vanished and her swollen eye healed. Surging to her feet, Xenovia went to the closet where she had stashed {Excaliber Destruction} and let out a sigh of relief that it was there. "But where is Irina?"

* * *

"Gaaaggh!" Xander covered his left eye as it throbbed unexpectedly. It was just on the edge of being painful and definitely wasn't something that he could ignore. He'd just been in the middle of adjusting his SafeLife FRAS vest when it happened. "Damned eye."

"What's wrong? Is your eye socket inflamed?" Asia was instantly at Xander's side. While she didn't have formal training as a Doctor, years of healing all sorts of ailments and injuries gave her a lot of medical knowledge. "Here let me heal it."

Asia raised her hands towards Xander's face preparing to use [Twilight Healing] to help her crush. However, as her hands came near his face, Xander cringed in near pain again. This time there was a metallic reverberation that everyone in the clubroom heard.

"What was that?" Rias frowned as she pinpointed the sound as coming from Xander left eye. "That sounded oddly familiar."

Xander mentally deactivated the illusion covering his left eye as the throbbing happened again. This time he was almost driven to his knees as the sensation was painful. As with the previous pulse what could only be described as a warning buzz resonated through the clubroom. What Xander couldn't see was that the now five point star in his eye glowed brightly as it buzzed.

"Nooo." Rias muttered in disbelief. "Hephaestus-dono wouldn't do that… would he?"

"To another God… no." Akeno shook her head in negation, but then nodded to Xander and continued. "To Xander-kun… in a heartbeat."

"What did Hephaestus-dono do?" Asia asked even as she was using [Twilight Healing] in the attempt to heal damage what just wasn't happening.

"Thundercats Ho." Koneko deadpanned as she tightened the straps on her fighting gloves.

"Oh that fucker! I am going to prank him so hard." Xander half growled as he straightened up. "{Eye of Omen} give me sight beyond sight!"

* * *

"Just keep running, Irina. They are after the swords. You need to get to Xander-dono." Irina whispered to herself. The Exorcist was running as fast as if the hounds of hell were nipping at her heels. She had good reason as a several Fallen Angels were gliding through the air trying to impale her with *Light Spears*. Not for the first time, Irina was thankful that becoming an Exorcist meant receiving a *Blessing* from the Church that made her a bit more than human. Sure, she wasn't quite equal to even a lesser Angel, but it still gave her a great deal of enhancement making her just slightly superhuman. Unfortunately she had been running all night. The Fallen Angels cut her off from any source of aid and never let her rest for more than a few minutes. She'd been skilled enough to avoid capture, but hunger and fatigue were taking their toll.

Unfortunately even with her enhancements, Irina could not dodge every *Light Spear*. Luckily the one that did tag her was only a graze, until it exploded sending her tumbling along the garden path. The loyal Exorcist tumbled a few times before coming to a stop. Her combat suit was little more than tatters that didn't even preserve her modesty. Thankfully it had done the job of keeping her injuries to just bruises and scrapes. Still she was exhausted, she had been sprinting for over two three miles.

"Well. Well. Well. Look what we have here: a slutty Exorcist with her tits and ass just begging for some punishment." Freed Sellzen stepped out of the shadows. "You made me chase you all over through this shitty town. I am going to take it out in your ass."

"Don't panic. Just keep moving." Irina spoke under her breath as she crawled along the ground a bit. She made the attempt to get to her feet, but a heavy boot stepped down on her back forcing her into the ground. "Hopefully Xenovia-chan and Kiba-san escaped."

"It was naughty of you to grab the other bitch's sword and run." The sadist Stray Exorcist chided the woman he was literally standing on. "I was going to kill that pussy devil then have some fun with the two of you but you spoiled it all. It things like that make me think you hate me." Freed actually sounded hurt as he said that. "I'm sure that even a stuck up prude like you couldn't hate someone who is out there killing shitty Devils."

"You'd be wrong." Irina spat out. "Hate isn't strong enough a word for how I feel about you."

"Oh well, I was going to be gentle, but if that's the case I am really going to tear you a new one."

* * *

"I am going to rip that bastard in half!" Xander growled as the vision faded away. Bundling the memory and the sensation involved he sent it to Rias. At the same time he manifested [Boosted Gear]. "How quick can you get us there, Rias-hime?"

"It'll take just a minute, Xander-koi." Rias responded as she threw her arms wide. Creating a *Transportation Circle* to and from the Clubroom was not hard as long as the location was in Kuoh. Of course such quick transports only allowed her to move those carrying the mark of her House, whether that mark was a permanent one like her servants or a flier like Saji and Raynare. It helped that the vision that Xander shared with her included precise coordinates.

The circle was being formed as everyone readied themselves for battle. Akeno had triggered the transformation that exchanged her casual clothes for her Miko attire. At the same time she released the [Yumi no Raiden] from it's bracelet form. Raynare finished the adjustments on fer own FRAS and quickly enchanted it to be transparant. Asia clasped her hands together and the eight chains of {Protective Chains of Prometheus} emerged from her back ready to act.

"*Boost!*" [Boosted Gear] announced as Xander was already powering up.

"Just what is the D-Bag doing?" Koneko asked as she saw all sense of humor and mercy bleed from Xander's eyes. It reminded her of the look he'd had when he killed Caleb.

"He's planning to rape Irina-chan." Xander growled out as the circle fully formed.

* * *

Freed grabbed Irina's hair and began dragging her towards the nearest bench laughing at her feeble attempts to pull away before she gave into the pain. Without even a single care he tossed her on it. Before she could try to get up his left hand was gripping her throat as he leaned in and licked her cheek.

"It's such a shame that a hot piece of ass like you stays loyal to the Church. We could have had a lot of fun butchering Devils and then fucking like animals." Freed leered over Irina's body. "Ah well, that's life and at least you'll get your cherry popped before you die."

"Rape is the only way you can get a girl, you bastard." Irina spat out literally, a globule of blood splattered across Freed's face. "I'll bet you're too small to even tear my hymen." Normally Irina would never say anything like that, but at the moment she just didn't want to face the fact she was going to be raped. She was praying that angering Freed enough would mean he'd just kill her.

"Wow. That is quite the mouth on you for a good Church girl." Freed smiled as if impressed. Even as he was speaking he tightens his grip on her throat. "Too bad it's written a check your body can't cash."

"Maybe so… but I'm one of Xander's Girls… he'll honor it." Irina gasped out as she tried to dislodge Freed's hand to no avail.

"You'll be dead before he tries." Freed grinned evilly. "It'll be fun to present your head to him and see his tears before I cut him to pieces."

"To quote Giles: Not bloody likely, Pillock." Xander said as he started stomping his way towards Freed. "If you are really lucky I'll kill you before I rip your spine out."

"*Boost!*" [Boosted Gear] intoned as the gem glowed again.

The majority of the ORC arrived via *Transportation Circle* just thirty feet behind Freed. Rias and Akeno immediately began weaving a *Concealment Barrier*. Koneko took a protect stance in front of Asia. Raynare created a *Light Spear* and was ready to act. Asia for her part had sent two of her chains in preparation to scoop up Irina the moment that Freed released her.

"Well fuck me, speak of a Devil and he does appear." Freed muttered in an impressed tone. "No weapons. Psycho-kun?"

"Death will be a release when I am done with you!" Xander growled as he surged forward with intent to see if he could create a reenactment of the Black Knight scene in Monty Python by ripping off Freed's limbs one at a time.

He never connected. Freed had released Irina and moved with astonishing speed out of the way. The Exorcist drew a wicked looking sword from under this smock. "Too slow Psycho-kun." The priest chirped happily before taking a swing at Xander's head only to find the devil blocking it with the [Boosted Gear]. "Hmm something is wrong here. {Excalibur Rapidly} should be hurting you even through that whack gauntlet."

"Traded my arms away for the chance to beat a Phenex to death for threatening to rape my girls." Xander growled as he twisted his arm around to attempt to grab the blade, only to grasp empty air. Freed was now twenty feet away with a smirk on his face. "Damn, a sword that gives you superspeed? That just sucks balls."

Asia acted quickly wrapping Irina in her chains and activating {Twilight Healing} on the battered Exorcist. She was just in time too as a blinding white *Light Spear* bounced off the cocoon of chains. Before she could warn anyone, three more chains moved to protect her from more *Light Spears*.

Hovering above everyone were four Fallen Angels males dressed in black chainmail and wearing stylized iron masks marking them as the foot soldiers of the Grigori. All four of them were preparing more *Light Spears* to hurl.

"Koneko-chan, Saji-san help Xander-kun." Rias called out battle orders. "Akeno-chan, Raynare-san let's give the Fallen Angels a taste of what we can do."

Koneko nodded before she launched herself towards Freed. The tiny girl leapt through the air almost appearing to fly without her wings. Coming down like a meteorite she planned on crushing Freed with one blow. Unfortunately she missed, her small fist creating a fifteen foot wide crater in the hard earth.

"Right!" Saji thrust his left arm forward as the [Absorption Line] manifested. "*Capture Line* go!" he called out. The chameleon like mouth of the sacred gear lashed out and wrapped around Freed's leg. "I got him. Put him down!"

"As you wish, Buchou." Akeno raised the [Yumi no Raiden] and gripped where there should be a string, as she pulled back a string of purple energy appeared. "*Lightning Bolt*" The Priestess of Thunder proclaimed as arrow composed of crackling lightning appeared. With a smile on her face she released the string. A bolt of lightning the size of a javelin was launched through the air with unerring accuracy. One of the Fallen Angels screamed before his chest cavity was completely vaporized. 'I love this bow.'

"My pleasure, Buchou!" Raynare unfurled her wings as she took to the air charging another Fallen Angel who was honestly too surprised by being action to even attempt to dodge. The jagged purple *Light Spear* tore through the chainmail and Fallen Angel's stomach with astonishing ease.

"Lady Raynare? Why?" The Fallen Angel gasped out as he began to dissolve away into feathers.

Rias for her part simply raised a hand and unleashed a wave of *Power of Destruction*. She wasn't bothering with any fancy technique or artistry. The Crimson Princess of Ruin was just unleashing a massive amount of power. While she was enjoying coming up with new ways to use her power, every once in a while she just liked to let go. The two remaining Fallen Angels tried to create *Shields* in order to defend themselves but it was pointless. In moments there was nothing but feathers as evidence they ever existed.

"What fresh hell is this thing?" Freed muttered as he tried to move only to find his leg was restrained. He sword with *Excalibur Rapidly* but the line refused to be severed. "Hey, what gives? Oh shit, I'm fucked."

"*Boost!*" [Boosted Gear] intoned again.

Xander reached Freed and delivered a roundhouse blow with every bit of his might. Considering that Xander was roughly was now five times as powerful as the strongest normal human on Earth and the [Boosted Gear] had doubled that three times. Xander's punch would have clocked in fifty thousand foot pounds or the equivalent of fifteen kilograms of TNT. If the blow had connected with an average human's head the skull would be powdered and the brain liquefied. Unfortunately, that was not the case. Xander's gauntlet covered fist struck a glowing white sigil with an incredibly loud bang. The feedback actually knocked Xander back into a charging Koneko as the force of his blow was reversed.

"Freed, my son, you are always getting in over your head." A short rotund man in full priestly raiment of a bishop stepped out from behind an ancient willow tree. "Whatever have you done to anger the Red Dragon Emperor? And why have you let yourself be entangled by the [Absorption Line]? What have I told you about playing with filthy dragons?"

Akeno had not hesitated drawing energy string back again she fired off another *Lightning Bolt* that simply hit another white sigil. The *Lightning Bolt* had rebounded and Asia's chains were forced to form a caged around her to ground out the attack.

"Yadda. Yadda. Blah. Blah. Give it a rest Old Man Valper. I was just having a bit of fun with that Exorcist after retrieving her sword when Psycho-kun and his bitches showed up." Freed back-talked the old man. "How the fuck do I cut this line so we can make like a pair of dykes and leave lickety split."

"Just concentrate your holy energy through the sword and you'll be able to free yourself." Valper rolled his eyes at fuming Stray Exorcist. "I will apologize for our rudeness. It is terribly bad manners to flee from a battle without resolving it, but I am afraid we have prior appointments. I shall leave you with three of my {Clay Martyrs} to entertain you."

As he spoke three transport circles formed between him and the Devils. Each circle was disgorging a massive nine foot tall terracotta statue of a human. Two of them were males in the regalia of a Catholic priest, and the remaining was a woman in Nun's habit.

Freed grinned as he did just as Valper had instructed. The glowing Holy Sword had sliced through the *Capture Line* of [Absorption Line] with little effort. "Well, it's a shame I can't watch you all be brutally murdered, but we have things to do. Toodles!" With that the insane exorcist detonated a {Light Grenade} forcing the gathered devils to cover their eyes.

* * *

"Water?" Kiba gasped out after the swallowed down the {Manna} Xenovia had practically force fed him. He remembered the foodstuff from his time in the Holy Sword project. It was an alchemically crafted substance that provided all the nutrition a person could need in a day as well as rapidly healing minor wounds and ailments. While it was tasty, it was extremely dry, which is why most people ate it as a cereal or porridge.

"We don't have any normal water. I hope milk will suffice." Xenovia retrieved a bottle of strawberry flavored milk, a guilty pleasure of hers and tossed it to Kiba. "As soon as you're able to move we need report to Gremory-dono."

"Thank you, Xenovia-san." Kiba caught the bottle and drank the quart down in a few swallows. Normally he would have savored it, but they had to get going. "We'll keep an eye out for your partner as well. She obviously led our attackers away."

"You are right, she did. Although, I do not understand how she got them to abandon {Excalibur Destruction}." Xenovia mused as she reached for her cloak. "Since you have superior knowledge of the area, I will follow your lead."

* * *

"Okay the crazy preacher has clay golems." Xander groaned as saw the {Clay Martyrs}. "Does anybody know what these are, let alone how to take them out?"

"The {Clay Martyrs} are an abomination of Alchemy. Clay mixed with the bones and blood of fallen Exorcists is used to create a devil killing automaton." Rias explained as she started gathering power. Her personal seal formed under her feet as her body began to glow with a crimson black aura, her hair and clothing being swept around by a fierce wind coming from the sigil. "When you kill one, let the rest of us know how."

Akeno drew back the string of the [Yumi no Raiden] forming a *Lightning Bolt* that was much larger than her previous attacks. Taking careful aim she released the string. The *Lighting Bolt* was a thirty feet long and three feet wide. It struck the lead {Clay Martyr} in a bright shower of sparks and a crack of thunder. When everyone could see the terra cotta priest their hearts stopped. Aside from some blackening of the surface the only effect the *Lightning Bolt* has was causing the {Clay Martyr} to skid backwards for a few feet.

"Well Lightning is out." Xander muttered as tried to formulate a plan. When he heard the *Boost!* of his sacred gear go off he decided to attempt brute force. (Rias-hime, Rook me!)

"Pawn promotion to Rook." Rias intoned as she channeled just a slight of power into her link to the Peerage. The slight distraction was not enough to affect her plan. Channeling a sizeable fraction of her personal power she formed an array of three seals and channeling the *Power of Destruction* through them. The blast of power she unleashed briefly took the form of a dragon before it drove into the nun shaped {Clay Martyr}. The automaton was enveloped in a doom of red-black energy fifteen feet diameter for a few seconds. When that dome fade away it revealed that the nun golem had only lost it left arm as it lay in the center of a pit gouged out of the Earth. 'That was an eighth of my reserves! There shouldn't have been anything left.'

Xander's form was superimposed with a crimson rook for the briefest of moment. Feeling the flood of physical power seeping into his sinews Xander grinned as he dashed forward. Gauntleted fist struck the closest {Clay Martyr} with a resounding boom. Cracks had actually formed in the [Boosted Gear], but the automaton was only staggered a bit. The retaliating attack was a clumsy upper cut from the {Clay Martyr's} the blow caught Xander in the chin and launched him through the air and through the trunk of an elm tree.

Seeing Xander's attack fail, Koneko tried a different tack. Closing with the same {Clay Martyr} she deftly dodged a few clumsy swings from the golem before she acted. Grabbing the golem's wrist she used her superior strength to bend it's arm behind it's back. The plan worked a little too well as the limb just distorted like soft clay under the slow pressure.

At the same time Asia had decided to attempt to restrain the other priest shaped golem. Four of her chains had wrapped around the automaton practically mummifying it. Tightening the chains caused the {Clay Martyr} to deform like play dough.

Akeno had been shocked by her attack simply being shrugged off and could see that Rias had been similarly shocked that she hadn't done more damage. She watched as Xander's blow was simply resisted like the {Clay Martyr} was just invulnerable. However Koneko and Asia's efforts showed that they Golems were malleable as modeling clay. Something in her mind clicked as she remembered a chemistry lesson. "THEY'RE LIKE OOBLECK!"

Rias's eye widened at the realization. It was suddenly very clear why no Devil had ever successfully destroyed a {Clay Martyr. The harder you hit them the higher their defenses increased. Almost all Devils would just use more powerful attacks. The Bael clan's *Power of Destruction* was a counter to this, but it seemed to take a phenomenal amount of power to even wound one of them. The amount of Devil Power she had put into her attack would have leveled several city blocks if she hadn't concentrated into a small globe.

"I can hold this one in place for now, but it keeps reforming. I'll get tire before it does." Asia called out as she directed her chains to keep applying the powerful but slow pressure that kept smooshing the {Clay Martyr}. "And Xander-kun isn't moving."

(Xander?) Rias reached out into the bond and found he was dazed but would be recovering in a minute. "He'll be okay. We need to concentrate on figuring out how to contain them." Out of the corner of her eye she noticed the {Clay Martyr} she had damage was reforming it's arm. "And quickly."

"Let's make mud." Koneko suggested as she hoisted her {Clay Martyr} and threw them into the pit Rias had created.

"Excellent idea, Koneko-chan." Rias responded as she got the gist of the idea. Using smaller amounts of power he kept a steady barrage of attack on the {Clay Martyr} in the pit that was designed to do nothing more than keep them off balance. "Asia-chan, throw yours in the pit as well and then try to hold them in there. Saji-San see if your line can't help her. Akeno I need you to fill it with water."

In just a matter of moments the three {Clay Martyrs} were thrashing around in the pit. Asia used six of her chains in an effort to keep the golems in place by constantly deforming their legs so they could not even stand. Saji shot out a *Capture Line* wrapping it around the waists of the three Golem and exerting enough pressure to keep them solid. Then the deluge of water came down from a sigil above the crater. It didn't take too long for the struggling Golems to turn the pristine water muddy.

"Damn, looks like you guys have it almost handled." Xander chuckled as he approached the rest of the group. "So how were you planning on baking them so they can't move after the water drains away?"

"Thermite." Koneko said calmly. "Figured you had it."

"I 've got something better than thermite." Xander chuckled. "If someone would be so kind as to freeze the top, I have a nice barrel of Chlorine Triflouride we can use. Cause nothing says dangerous like something even the Nazis were too afraid to use."

* * *

**Author Note**: If you want to know about Chlorine Triflouride you can google it or you can look up the video "5 of the World's Most Dangerous Chemicals" on youtube. I fully suggest the second as the guy is as funny as he is educational.


End file.
